Our latest advice for attending or visiting our hospital can be found below. This advice is under continuous review and may change at any point in response to local infection rates.
Visiting policy
Flu and COVID-19
We are seeing an increase in patients coming into our hospital despite having symptoms of flu, which is impacting the care we can provide.
Please do not visit our hospital if you have flu-like symptoms, or if you have been sick or had diarrhoea within the past 48 hours. This is really important to protect other patients and our staff.
If you are unable to attend as planned, please call the number on your appointment letter and the team will rearrange a new date for you as soon as possible.
Please also stay at home if you or anyone in your household has any symptoms of COVID-19, even if you have tested negative on a lateral flow test.
Infection, prevention and control
While it is not mandatory, we still welcome inpatient, outpatient and professional visitors to consider doing a lateral flow test in the 24-hours before your visit if you can, to help protect our vulnerable patients.
Please maintain good hand hygeine throughout your visit by regularly using the sanitiser dispensers and sinks throughout our building.
Inpatient visiting
Receiving in-person visits are an important part of a patient’s rehabilitation.
View our inpatient visiting guidance and times for each ward.
If you are due to visit an inpatient and have symptoms of flu or COVID-19, or if you have been sick or had diarrhoea within the past 48 hours, please let our team know and we can help to support a virtual visit.
Visitors should wear a mask in all clinical areas, which includes all wards, patient bedrooms, outpatient clinic rooms and treatment rooms.
Outpatient appointments
All outpatient appointments are being continuously reviewed. If your consultant feels you need to be seen face-to-face then that is the appointment we will offer you. Non-urgent appointments have been cancelled or moved to virtual consultations - either via telephone or video - as appropriate.
If you are invited to attend an appointment at the hospital, please rest assured we will keep you safe and you should still come. If you have not heard from the relevant team about your appointment, then yours is still due to take place at the hospital.
You may bring one person with you to your outpatient appointment, though we ask they follow all the visiting guidance detailed above.
Bespoke 'outpatient appointments' guidance for different patient groups is available below.
We hope this 'virtual visit' below helps to reassure you ahead of your appointment.
Screening tool
We have a screening tool using text messages that will help us identify whether patients have COVID-19 symptoms before they attend face-to-face hospital appointments.
You may receive a text message from +447860039092 before your appointment, asking you if you have any symptoms of COVID-19. Please follow the instructions in the text message to let us know.
Day Ward
Patients on Day Ward may have one visitor each to accompany them while on the ward.
Face masks
We are following national guidance in relation to face mask wearing. Each Trust completes their own risk assessment and our hospital has a new high-standard ventilation system, spacious areas and side room facilities for all our inpatients.
With consideration of the above, our guidance is face masks should be worn in all clinical rooms (in outpatient and inpatient area). Patient and relatives are encouraged to wear face masks on entering the hospital if they want to, but we would also advised you not to enter the Trust if you have COVID/Flu like symptoms. Face masks will be provided at various stations across our site. As per our pre COVID-19 policy, cystic fibrosis patients should wear a mask at all times, unless in their own inpatient bedroom or outpatient clinic room.
Outbreak and hospital acquired infections are under constant review by our Infection, Prevention and Control teams.
Outpatients
All outpatients must wear a surgical mask when in clinic and treatment rooms and are encouraged to also wear a mask while in the outpatient waiting area. The staff member providing your care will also be wearing a mask.
Visitors
Visitors (inpatient visitors and those accompanying outpatients) must wear a mask in all clinical areas, which includes all wards, patient bedrooms, outpatient clinic rooms and treatment rooms.
Enhanced PPE may be required when visiting an inpatient bedroom or clinical area. Our staff will advise and supply you with the correct PPE if this is required.
Inpatients
Inpatients need to wear a mask if being transferred from one department to another or if they are confirmed with / displaying symptoms of COVID-19. Staff will wear a mask when inside a patient's bedroom.
Outpatients information
We would recommend that all of our ACHD patients receive their COVID-19 booster dose, unless you are allergic to any specific components of the vaccine.
We have taken steps to increase the number of patients we see in face-to-face clinics, although telephone appointments will remain in place where appropriate. You will be contacted by the ACHD team who will let you know where your appointment will take place.
If you have any further enquires after reading the government guidelines, in order to keep telephone calls to a minimum, please email our ACHD nurses.
Further COVID-19 information for ACHD patients is available here.
As per our pre COVID-19 policy, cystic fibrosis patients should wear a mask at all times, unless in their own inpatient bedroom or outpatient clinic room.
Our clinics are running as a mix of face-to-face appointments where required in addition to telephone and video consultations.
Please do not attend the hospital for an in-person appointment unless you have been invited to do so.
We continue to bring in people as inpatients when hospital care/ IV treatment is required.
If you need to pick up medication or equipment, or have your port-a-cath flushed – please contact us via the emails below at least a week before this is needed and we will arrange this for you.
Contact
For CF team for advice please email papworth.cfusnpapworth@nhs.net.
For lung defence and immunology advice please email papworth.ldciccns@nhs.net.
To reduce the infection risk to our patients, we are offering a mixture of face-to-face and telephone appointments as deemed appropriate for individual patient needs.
We strongly encourage all patients with interstitial lung disease to get all their doses of a coronavirus vaccine.
If you are currently receiving pirfenidone or nintedanib from Homecare, this will continue. As usual, make sure you have enough ‘buffer stock’ by keeping at least two to four weeks’ worth of your medicines at all times and request repeat prescriptions or homecare deliveries well in advance of this supply running out. If you are experiencing any difficulty getting hold of a supply of your medicines or if you have any concerns about their availability, please let the ILD team know as soon as possible.
You can contact our ILD specialist nurses by telephone on 01223 638018.
Patients should carry on with their usual delivery schedules under Homecare services unless otherwise directed. You can arrange for a relative, friend or community volunteer to collect your medicine. Some cystic fibrosis patients may see a change to delivery schedules in the future for specialist medications.
Further COVID-19 information for outpatient prescriptions, including Homecare, is available here.
The pulmonary hypertension service has now resumed face-to-face consultations for the majority of our patients. We are still holding some telephone clinics and it will be made clear on your appointment letter if you are required to attend our hospital in person or via telephone clinic. If you have a telephone appointment, please wait by your phone and we will contact you on the day, on or as close to the time stated on your letter.
If you are attending a face-to-face appointment please attend in good time and let us know as soon as possible if you are unable to make the appointment so that this slot can then be made available to another patient.
If you need to contact the pulmonary hypertension team, please call 01223 638826.
Further information can be found on the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA UK) website.
As part of our response to COVID-19, some of our outpatient activity is being carried out by telephone in order to reduce the risk to our patients.
The team continue to review and prioritise new referrals.
The CPAP support line is available on 01223 638526.
All patients attending our thoracic oncology clinic may bring one person with them to their appointment. Our lung cancer pathway has always remained open, including appointments, diagnostic services and surgery.
Some routine and follow-up appointments may take place virtually.
There are restrictions on the number of outpatients that we can bring into Royal Papworth Hospital in order to keep all patients safe.
We will contact you before your next appointment and let you know whether we will see you in person or virtually.
If you are uncertain whether you should attend your appointment, please contact the transplant unit on 01223 638007.
Contact
Email: papworth.transplant.continuingcare@nhs.net
Further COVID-19 information for heart transplant and lung transplant patients is available here.