As the United Kingdom moves out of the COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare services start to resume, some important changes have occurred.

There is a great emphasis on consultations being carried out remotely, which I am able to offer through my work at BMI The Droitwich Spa Hospital, Spire South Bank Hospital or through the Top Doctors platform. Most follow up consultations can be carried out this way. However, some new patient referrals still benefit from a face-to-face consultation.

If you need to come in to hospital for an endoscopy procedure or operation, then the new guidance from the NHS is that you and your household will need to self-isolate for 2 weeks prior to your admission. You will also be swab-tested for COVID-19 prior to admission. It is important to comply with this requirement as it helps reduce the risk of infection to healthcare workers, other patients in the hospital and, importantly, reduces the risk to you from coronavirus-related complications that can occur if there is undiagnosed infection at the time of your procedure.

Ultimately, we want all of our patients to remain safe during these times, but we also need to maintain a healthy workforce to be able to look after our patients.