THE COVID-19 PROCEDURE WHEN VISITING THE JHB EYE HOSPITAL
Overview:
The global pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported on the 31st December 2019 by the World Health Organization following a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been confirmed as the causative virus of COVID-19. To date, COVID-19 has become a global pandemic and it is continuing to spread across the globe. COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Most infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalization. For more information on the virus please refer to the following websites: https://www.nicd.ac.za/ and https://covid19.who.int/.
Our Procedures:
Should a patient require eye surgery following a consultation with an ophthalmic surgeon, they will be requested to visit one of the laboratories in their area to have a COVID-19 test done prior to their procedure. This test should be performed no more than 3-5 days prior to their admission to the Johannesburg Eye Hospital. Should the test results be positive, the scheduled procedure will be postponed to a future date. A negative result will allow the procedure to go ahead as scheduled. Should the patient be a minor or person with a disability or an elderly person then the person accompanying this patient would also need to have a COVID-19 test done with a negative result prior to the patients admission. Between the date of testing and date of surgery the patients are requested to have minimal social contact and if possible to isolate at home.
Prior to a patient’s admission, they will be requested by the receptionist at the ophthalmic surgeon’s practice to complete the JHB EYE Hospital’s pre-authorisation form and anaesthetist form. This can be found on our website at https://www.jhbeye.com/patient…/covid-19-policy/ and may be emailed it to the hospital staff at [email protected].
Patients and accompanying visitor’s will be required to wear face masks for the duration of their visit to the JHB Eye Hospital and will be required to have a health screening done at Reception upon arrival. Patients are also reminded to practice safe social distancing at all times.
Unfortunately, no visitors are allowed into the Eye ward, Laser centre or Medwedge Stepdown Facility currently.
We thank you for your understanding and co-operation during this time. The health and safety of our staff and our patients is our utmost priority.