Providing Safe and Effective Surgical Care During the COVID-19 Outbreak in the UK – Changing Strategies

Healthcare systems were stretched to the limit by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The increase in demand for staff, space and resources to treat patients with COVID-19 meant that patients requiring other forms of emergency care experienced improvised systems and pathways. The impact of these pressures particularly affected the provision of acute surgical care within the United Kingdom. The central response included the cancellation of all non-urgent elective surgery and the sequestration of operating theatre space as critical care overspill areas.1 However, local responses were dependent on initial surgical resources and local COVID-19 burden. In this letter, we describe measures implemented by the general surgical department at a university teaching hospital in North London to ensure adequate provision of emergency surgical care.