To Attend With Covid?

[discoballdave]

Bit of backstory: saw the cardiologist about a year and a half ago for some afib symptoms after a holter test. Cardiologist wanted to put in a Reveal device but I was 5 weeks pregnant by that appointment. Decided to catch up after pregnancy.

Three appointments prior to this have been cancelled and I have one at 7:30pm tonight. Woke up feeling awful with a slightly raised temperature, stuffy runny nose, slight throat pain and body aches. Haven't slept all night as baby has the same symptoms (5 months old) and kept waking up.

Feeling like crap but have had some scary heart symptoms in the past few days and really need to speak to the cardiologist (on Propanolol 40mg for a week so far) so I'll drag myself out to see him with a mask on. Sister is calling me all shades of unreasonable saying I could lead to his death over a silly appointment and I should cancel and wait for the next appointment on the books. Baby is staying home with DH so as not to be taken out of routine.

AIBU?

Everyone has been vaccinated now for some time, I'd just go and take precautions like using the hand santisers and try to sit as far away as possible from everyone else.

Yes in the health board that I work in. There are no tests available to staff. If you feel well enough to work you go to work. If you feel too unwell you stay at home.

Covid can be carried asymptomatically and is not the only illness that staff might catch and carry. We have never been tested for anything else, unfortunately covid is just one more circulating virus now.

Our health board still has covid positive staff stay at home. I wouldn't personally go. I am clinically vulnerable so have to be very careful

You should follow official guidance OP, which is to continue as normal if you feel well enough. Your appointment is important to your health and if you don't attend it your condition could escalate, which will cause a greater burden on health services. They do think before issuing guidance regarding covid, weighing up the risk of spreading it against the risk of people who need to go to hospital staying away, and its clearly been decided patients may now attend if they feel able. Otherwise theyd tell you not to, make you test, and stop the staff going in.

I think you should ring ahead and ask for advice.

What are you expecting from this appointment? It might be possible to switch you to a telephone consultation

Also, covid in itself can cause cardiac symptoms, so if you need hospital tests then it might make sense to wait until after you have recovered

No we absolutely won’t give you absolution to take Covid to a cardiologist, who sees people with heart problems all day long, who could infect loads of people who have heart problems before he realises. Not sure where you are but we go to hospital a few times a year for various paediatrics and our letters still tell us to stay home if we have symptoms.

FFS.

Hope that helps.

This is going to get me flamed , but I will die on this hill; You have to look out for yourself and not expect strangers to be as considerate as people on this forum appears to be.

As bad as this sounds, there are still people boarding planes, going into work, going shopping, attending appointments with coughs and sneezes and worse - you can't change them, only cover yourself as much as possible.

I would attend my appointment.

Yes ,some specialities ( eg.some oncology) still let staff stay home but most nhs workplaces now have a “don’t test ,come in if you are well enough” type of attitude.

This.

Can you phone the consultant's secretary or nurse & ask? At the very least double mask and try to stay away from everyone else. There are likely to be quite ill people in the clinic for whom COVID might be quite dangerous.

@Wendysfriend Gov guidance from march 23 onwards :
What has changed
The likelihood of being admitted to hospital directly due to coronavirus (COVID-19) is greatly reduced in the general population, with testing in healthcare settings mainly targeted at informing clinical care.
The main changes to this guidance are:
most healthcare staff who have symptoms of a respiratory infection are no longer asked to test for COVID-19
healthcare staff who test positive for COVID-19 are no longer required to have 2 negative lateral flow device (LFD) tests for COVID-19 before they return to work
healthcare staff whose job primarily involves providing direct care to inpatients who are severely immunosuppressed, such as those working in inpatient areas for solid organ, stem cell or bone marrow transplant or haemato-oncology patients, should take an LFD test if they develop symptoms of a respiratory infection, in line with locally decided protocols
healthcare staff whose job primarily involves providing direct care to inpatients who are severely immunosuppressed and who have a positive COVID-19 test should return to work in line with locally decided protocols”
From www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-managing-healthcare-staff-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection/managing-healthcare-staff-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection-or-a-positive-covid-19-test-result

Doctor has advised I go in. I'm one of the vulnerable people who has to be careful with Covid and I have other heart issues (that are mostly managed) so he wants to check me out in person as I've had a flare up recently. I'm the last appointment of the day so he said there shouldn't be people around waiting.

Not having the Reveal device today so no procedures are to be done like that.

Yes, this.

That's great OP. Glad to hear it!

Yes, sadly that is the case. Consequently nosocomial Covid infection is really common. Being admitted to a hospital here comes with some interesting risks.

There are a few areas where the rules are essentially different but generally it would be unusual to see someone wearing a mask in a hospital here.,Even if they are ill.

I’d ring OP and see what they say. Taking a covid infection into a cardiology unit of all places is probably not a great idea but it might be more important to be seen if the next appointment is ages away. Wear a decent mask either way.

Good 😊

I'm glad you can still attend. Hope all goes well and you're feeling better soon.