Category Archives: COVID

Criteria for Urgent Orthopaedic Referrals to GJNH (During COVID-19)

GJNH has received requests to provide orthopaedic revision surgery from other boards, because of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. As part of the GJNH’s mobilisation plan, we are able to support boards in Scotland by accepting urgent orthopaedic referrals. This will be dependent on there being sufficient bed capacity and appropriate staffing and may change dependent on GJNH maintaining COVID-free wards. 

The criteria for this patient group would include:

  • Urgent infected revisions 
  • Peri-prosthetic fractures 
  • Dislocations that cannot be reduced
  • Unstable dislocations
  • Complex cases where delay till after the COVID pandemic would have a severe detrimental impact on patient outcome

It would be useful at this stage to ascertain how many patients boards currently have who may fall into this category so we can try and plan capacity going forward.

The process for referring patients would be a consultant to consultant telephone conversation. This would be followed by a manager to manager conversation.

If calls initially could go to Mr Joe Baines ( Lead Orthopaedic Surgeon)

Also if the boards manager could contact Christine Divers (Deputy Director of National Elective Services)

Version 1

2/4/2020