The UK Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) has collaborated with the Society of Radiographers to create a leaflet for patients coming to the hospital for imaging and interventional radiology procedures.
The leaflet, “Protecting people attending for imaging tests or interventional radiology procedures,” outlines the new arrangements hospital sites are putting in place to protect visiting patients from COVID-19 so they may feel at ease. For example, patients with COVID-19 are scanned and treated separately, plus all patients coming to hospitals must wear a face covering or mask, it explains.
The leaflet also covers additional safety precautions patients will see, such as being asked about COVID-19, checking their temperature, new access routes, spacing around the imaging department and waiting areas, and staff wearing personal protective equipment.
“We want to reassure anyone visiting a hospital that radiology teams are doing everything they can to keep you safe from the virus,” notes RCR vice president for Clinical Radiology Caroline Rubin. “New protection measures are likely to include assessing you as you arrive, minimising contact in waiting areas, and potentially asking you to wait to be called in, as well as altering entry and exit points within the imaging department to keep people appropriately distanced.”
