A surgeon at Craigavon Area Hospital has warned against risky home improvements and speeding on the roads as coronavirus puts hospitals under extreme pressure.
n a statement Ronan McKeown, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, said it was vital for the public to stay focused on preventing injuries on the roads.
“Currently, our hospitals are rightly gearing up for the latest coronavirus surge and we will not have the resources to provide our normal high level of service within orthopaedics,†he said.
“If people do injure themselves, we may not be able to offer them the surgery they need at this time which may unfortunately lead to long term health consequences for those individuals.â€
Mr McKeown and his team in Trauma and Orthopaedics specialise in treating patients with a wide variety of injuries caused by road traffic collisions, accidents at home, sporting activities and many more.
He said many of these injuries could be avoided by driving sensibly or avoiding household tasks which increased the chance of needing medical attention.
“More accidents happen in the home than anywhere else, so I would encourage everyone to be mindful of the dangers in and around the home,†he said.
“Ladders, steps, cables and power tools are all potentially dangerous at the best of times,so we would really urge people not to take unnecessary risks and to delay any jobs which could wait.â€
He added: “We know that reducing speed by even 10 mile an hour will significantly reduce the risk of a road traffic collision and will reduce the risk of injury in the event of a collision.
“By cutting your speed you will be helping yourself and others and taking pressure off the health service at this most challenging time. To limit the spread of the virus and reduce the risk to our patients, the public and our staff, we need to minimise the number of people in and around our hospitals as far as possible.â€
Belfast Telegraph
