Mount Carmel Hospital has geared up to be COVID-19 prepared by taking up several structural and procedural initiatives to make sure that all patients are kept safe during their stay at the facility.
Patients who are being admitted are screened for COVID-19 and are nursed in specific areas until a COVID swab result is obtained. Moreover, all new admissions who are COVID-negative are receiving psychiatric care in admission wards, which act as holding bays, to ensure that asymptomatic newly admitted patients do not spread the virus to the more vulnerable patients in the chronic wards.
Meanwhile, specific areas in the hospital have been set up for patients who are COVID-positive and require psychiatric care, as well as for patients who are in mandatory quarantine or patients who are recovering from COVID-19.
When visiting the hospital, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne applauded Mount Carmel's initiatives and thanked the staff for their dedication, especially during these challenging times.
He also had the opportunity to speak to several members of the staff at Mount Carmel Hospital as well as the staff in Community Mental Health Services, who are also receiving ongoing training on the use of personal protective equipment as well management of COVID-positive patients.