Feel safe with Spire during COVID-19

We’ve implemented a series of safety measures to help protect our patients and colleagues from the potential risk of COVID-19. We are keeping these measures in place once legal restrictions are lifted across the UK.

To help minimise the potential risk in our hospitals and help you feel safe, our safety measures include:

• Face masks – It is a mandatory requirement for patients to wear a mask within our hospitals in Scotland unless medically exempt. For our hospitals in England and Wales:
  • Inpatients: Inpatients with suspected/confirmed COVID-19 or any respiratory symptoms will be provided with a face mask on admission. Patients attending cancer units are encouraged to wear a mask. All other inpatients are not required to wear a mask unless this is their personal preference
  • Outpatients: Anyone with any respiratory symptoms must wear a face mask. Oncology/haematology patients are encouraged to wear a mask. All other outpatients are not required to wear a mask unless this is their personal preference
  • Visitors: Visitors attending cancer units/OPS cancer review clinics are encouraged to wear a mask. Visitors attending the inpatient wards and outpatients are not required to wear a mask unless this is their personal preference
• Staff COVID-19 vaccinations – All our colleagues have been offered a COVID vaccine and nearly 11,500 of all our colleagues have received both vaccines
• Screening – All patients and colleagues will self screen for any symptoms of COVID-19 on arrival. Only patients who are undergoing surgery will be required to have a COVID-19 test which can be sourced through GOV.UK. Our colleagues are regularly tested for COVID-19 and wear appropriate PPE. If you are attending for surgery and are a contact of a positive COVID-19 case please contact your hospital.
• Visitors policy – Please check the hospital website homepage to see if local visiting restrictions apply due to local increases in COVID-19 cases. If local restrictions are not in place, we are restricting visitors to two visitors for patients having inpatient treatment and one accompanying visitor for outpatient appointments. Visitors to inpatients or chemotherapy units will need to take a lateral flow test on the day of their visit and bring proof of a negative test result. Test kits should be sourced from GOV.UK
• Tests prior to surgery – If you're coming into hospital for surgery, your consultant or nurse will advise which pathway you will be managed on before your admission. Read details of the pathways: Coronavirus test and isolation guide and lateral flow test pathway guide
• COVID-19 tests – We are not able to provide lateral flow COVID-19 tests to patients undergoing surgery at our hospitals. Lateral flow test kits should be sourced from the GOV.UK website. We will supply COVID-19 tests to patients who have been advised that they are on a PCR pathway and require a PCR test. COVID-19 testing or antibody tests are also not available as a standalone service.
• COVID-19 vaccine – Your surgery can still go ahead if you have been given the vaccine. We would advise that you wait 5-7 days after the vaccine before any surgery where possible, to allow plenty of time for any potential side effects from the vaccine to settle. Your surgery may be postponed if you have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 7 weeks and a risk based assessment will be carried out by your consultant and clinical team. For more information please read our vaccine Q&A further down the page

We’re confident that these pathways will help create a secure, protective environment so everyone feels more confident about coming into and working in our hospitals.