An East Yorkshire surgeon is urging those spending time at home due to coronavirus to take extra care to avoid accidents or injury.

Miss Elizabeth Moulder, orthopaedic surgeon with Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, says more time at home due to self isolation, distance working and school closures could see the number of injuries related to home improvement, outdoor play, or even trips and falls soar.

Orthopaedic surgeon, Elizabeth Moulder

And while urgent health needs and emergencies will be treated promptly, efforts to bolster the trust’s coronavirus response mean some specialties, such as orthopaedic surgery, will be operating at a reduced capacity.

Miss Moulder explains:

“Many children are enjoying more time at home, but with this comes an increased risk of injury as children spend more time playing outdoors on trampolines, scooters, bikes and so on.

“The coronavirus outbreak has seen a huge reduction in the number of people attending A&E and our fracture clinic, and we are grateful for people’s cooperation in staying at home, but in one morning fracture clinic this week, half of all the fractures we treated were as a result of children playing on trampolines*.

“Roads are quieter and in recent weeks, we’ve enjoyed a bit more sunshine; these factors could tempt more people into jumping on the motorbike or driving more quickly than normal, increasing their risk of a road traffic accident or collision.

The DIY can wait!

“With more people spending time at home, people could even start turning their hand to the DIY or home improvement jobs they’ve been meaning to get round to for a while. Ladders, steps, cables and power tools are all potentially dangerous at the best of times, so we would really urge people not to take unnecessary risks and to delay any jobs which could wait.

“At this time, our hospitals are rightly gearing up for the coronavirus effort. Routine surgery has already been cancelled and going forward we will not have the resources to provide our normal high level of service within orthopaedics, as specialist staff such as anaesthetists and theatre nurses will be required to help in other areas such as intensive care.

“Nationally and locally, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases is on the rise. To limit the spread of the virus and reduce the risk to our patients, the public and our staff, we need to minimise the number of people in and around Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill as far as possible.

Trampoline injuries are increasingly common

“Hospital staff are working incredibly hard in difficult circumstances, and we have already been overwhelmed by the amount of public support we’ve seen so far. By taking basic precautions while at home – by not going up ladders unnecessarily, by wearing cycle helmets or by limiting trampolines to one child at a time, for example – everyone can help reduce their own risk and reduce pressures on our health services at an extraordinary time for all of us.”

* The average number of clinic attendances averages around 30 people. Tuesday morning’s clinic (31 March) saw six patients, of whom three were patients with fractures associated with play on trampolines.

Chris Long, Chief Executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Sadly, we can confirm that a man has died at Castle Hill Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.

“The man, who was in his 60s, had underlying health conditions.

“We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family as they cope with the loss of their loved one and request that the media respect their wishes for privacy at this very difficult and distressing time.”

– YOUR NHS NEEDS YOU…

They’ve been on the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak for almost two months.

From wearing the right Personal Protection Equipment to keeping a safe two metres between us, when the Infectious Diseases team at Castle Hill Hospital talk, we need to listen.

Now, Physician Associate Mike Moore has gathered vital advice and guidance from the team from Ward 7 – their tips for what we should be listening to, reading, watching and doing if you need to self-isolate.

WE’RE ALL EARS

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

The Cure – Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

A Day To Remember

The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow

Google/Alexa playlist

Manu Chao

Elder Island

Kanyaga Tanzanian

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Muse

Radiohead

WATCH WITH MOTHER (UNLESS SHE’S OVER 70 OR HAS AN UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITION)

12 Angry Men

You (Netflix)

Picard (Amazon Prime)

Mad Men

The Stranger (Netflix)

Safe (Netflix)

Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)

A Quiet Place

House of Cards (US)

Utopia

Chernobyl

Noughts and Crosses

Birdbox

Munna Bhai MBBS

3 Idiots

The Wire

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

Plato’s Republic

A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin

Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruif

Player of Games by Iain M Banks

Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

KEEP ON MOVIN’

Pandemic – board game or app

Decorating

Housework

Dobble (board game)

Pictionary Air

Learn a new language

Puzzles

Weight lifting

Paint by numbers

Teach yourself pottery

30 day press-up challenge

Tara Styles – Bed Yoga

Restrictions are being introduced at Hull’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) today to protect Hull’s most vulnerable babies from COVID-19.

Staff at the NICU are taking the steps to ensure the babies on the unit are shielded as much as possible from the dangers of the virus.

From today (Tuesday), just one parent will be able to visit the unit for the duration of the baby’s stay, unless their child is critically ill.  If two parents are able to visit because their child is critically ill or receiving end-of-life care, just one will be allowed by their baby’s cot at a time.

NICU staff are also working to set up a video link for parents where they can see their babies through a password-protected app.

Visiting parents will be allocated visiting times to ensure they are at a safe distance apart of at least two metres.

Only parents staying on the unit with their critically ill baby will be able to use the family kitchen with just one visitor allowed in at a time to maintain the two-metre isolation rule.

No visitors will be allowed for mothers and babies on Transitional Care in line with the policy for the rest of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

Consultant Neonataologist Joanna Preece said: “We know how difficult this will be for families but they would expect us to do everything in our power to protect their babies and to maintain staffing levels to deliver this care.

“Our priority must be the babies in our care and taking these steps will ensure we are doing everything possible to reduce the risk of the virus being spread in the unit.”

NICU Manager Kate Lamming said: “I have written a letter for all parents to explain we have their babies’ best interests at heart. We are taking these steps to protect their babies, the staff who are caring for their babies and the parents themselves.

“We are very grateful for their understanding of the need to take these difficult steps.”

They were called on to step up to the plate as Hull’s hospitals prepared for the COVID-19 outbreak.

And staff on Ward 1 at Hull Royal Infirmary set aside their own concerns to be there for patients.

Since the beginning of March, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been working round the clock so Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital can provide the best possible care for people with the signs of COVID-19.

Changing Ward 1 from an acute medicine rapid discharge ward to a ward looking after people with suspected COVID-19 until the results of their screening tests are known was one of the first steps as preparations ramped up.

Julia Denley, Senior Matron in Acute Medicine, said: “I am tremendously proud of the staff on Ward 1. They took the challenge in their stride.

“Although initially anxious for their own safety and that of their families, they have followed all the advice from the infection control, arrived every day and night for their shifts and worked tirelessly as a team supporting not only themselves but the patients and relatives who have been anxiously awaiting the results.

“Their team spirit and tenacity to get a job done well has blown me away.”

Staff at both hospitals have been volunteering their services as the trust prepares to admit patients with COVID-19. While the vast majority of people who contract the disease will experience only mild or moderate symptoms, a small proportion will require hospital care.

With non-urgent operations and outpatient appointments cancelled last week, teams from these areas are undergoing retraining to be redeployed to other parts of the hospitals to assist frontline staff.

People have been seconded from their normal day-to-day jobs to coordinate the trust’s response to the outbreak.

From porters, housekeepers, estates, admin and support staff to nursing and midwifery teams, consultants, theatre staff doctors and allied health professionals, every department in the trust is assisting senior management planning and coping for COVID-19.

Chief Operating Officer Teresa Cope said: “I have never been more proud to work for the NHS. What I have seen over these past few weeks has given me confidence that our trust and our 9,000 staff are ready to help the people of Hull and the East Riding.

“We will do what it takes. We have the plans in place and our staff are already working above and beyond.

“We are in it together and people should be assured that our staff will do whatever they need to do to get us through this, however long it takes.”

When Lindsay Smith followed her mum Janet’s footsteps into the health service, she was just 16.

Now, as mums across Hull and East Yorkshire celebrate Mother’s Day today, our special mother and daughter are marking 62 years of service to patients in Hull.

Lindsay, who will celebrate 30 years with the NHS in September, said: “I’m so proud of my mum and everything she’s achieved. I never imagined that, between us, we’d have all these years of service to the NHS but it’s something we’re really proud of.”

Janet, who is 74 and is retiring after 32 years, said: “It’s been lovely to work with Lindsay and she’s got on great in the NHS.

“It’s working with patients that make the job for me. That and working in a friendly environment where everyone says hello.”

Janet worked as a hairdresser but decided to apply for the job as a cardiographer, helping to diagnose people with heart problems, at Hull Royal Infirmary after spotting a newspaper advert in 1988.

She said: “I couldn’t believe it when I got the call to say I had the job.”

Janet is now a senior cardiographer, still based at Hull Royal Infirmary. Although she had cut her hours down to two days a week, she is looking forward to spending time with husband Dale and their six grandchildren when social isolation is over.

“I suppose I could have gone on forever but it was the traffic that got to me in the end,” she said. “I was driving home, stuck in horrendous traffic at tea-time, and I just thought I didn’t need it anymore.”

Lindsay decided to follow her mum into the NHS after leaving school at 16. She joined the trust as a student medical technical officer in neurophysiology, working for the service which investigates the function of the nervous system to diagnose and monitor neurological disorders.

She is now Principle Clinical Physiologist in neurophysiology, part of the team based at Gladstone Street.

Now with her own two children Cameron, 14, and Georgia, 11, Lindsay says her mother’s friendship and experience has been crucial in developing her own career.

“Obviously, I’m not living at home now but it’s still funny when I see my mum in the lift at work or when we’re on the same ward seeing a patient,” she said.

“I’ve asked her about patients and she’s sent referrals to me. We’ve got very similar personalities and we’ve always been really good at communicating with each other.”

When Janet, who lives in Hedon, and Lindsay, who lives in Burton Pidsea, see each other outside work, they try not to “talk shop”.

“We do try but it doesn’t always work,” said Lindsay. “It’s good to talk to someone else who understands and we can help each other.”

Chris Long, Chief Executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Sadly, we can confirm that a man who was being cared for at Castle Hill Hospital and had tested positive for COVID-19 has died.

“The man, who was in his 60s, had underlying health conditions.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family at this difficult and distressing time.

“We ask that the media respect the wishes of the family for privacy as they cope with the loss of their loved one.”

Non-urgent outpatient appointments and routine surgery at Hull’s hospitals will be postponed from today to allow staff to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is cancelling some elective procedures and outpatient appointments following a national announcement by NHS England to free up 12,000 to 15,000 hospital beds around the country.

However, emergency operations and admissions, cancer treatment and clinically urgent work will still go ahead.

Cancelling non-urgent operations and outpatient appointments from today will free up staff to undertake training, beds, theatres and recovery facilities ahead of the predicted COVID-19 peak in a few weeks.

Jacqueline Myers, the trust’s Director of Strategy and Planning, said: “As the Chief Medical Officer has stated, NHS services are likely to come under intense pressure as the coronavirus spreads. We need to ensure that we have as many beds available as possible to care for patients with severe respiratory problems when the number of infections peaks.

“Therefore, in line with well-established plans for situations like this, every hospital in England has now been asked to suspend all non-urgent elective operations for at least three months, with some other procedures likely to be rescheduled so we can train our staff and adapt certain areas.

“Urgent and emergency cases and cancer treatments will be carrying on as normal, but we know many people waiting for treatment will be disappointed or worried and we will be contacting everyone affected as soon as possible.”

The trust’s patient admin team are working as fast as possible to alert patients who have appointments over the next few days and weeks and are appealing to the public not to call the hospital about their appointments.

If your appointment is within the next seven days and is to be cancelled or changed to a telephone consultation, you will receive a telephone call from the Patient Admin team and a follow-up letter.

If your appointment is more than seven days from now, you will receive a letter if your appointment is to be cancelled or changed to a telephone consultation.

Some patients will still be required to attend to continue treatment so, if you do not receive a letter or a phone call, please turn up for your appointment as normal.