Service Changes for COVID-19 – Trauma and Orthopaedic Service

Due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, the way we deliver care within the Trauma and Orthopaedic Service has been limited since March 2020. 

The Fracture Clinic Service is held in the Royal Glamorgan Hospital 9am-5pm Monday-Friday.  

The consultant-led team will advise on urgent referrals from A&E, Minor Injuries Unit, the acute physiotherapy service and GPs. The team do not respond to any individual patient queries.  

Follow-up appointments can be carried out by telephone if necessary if the patient (or parent) is self-isolating.  

The Health Board may choose not to operate on certain injuries if the risk of COVID infection or implant infection following admission is too great. For those injuries, the Health Board may need to operate at a later date when it is safe to do so. 

The service is currently only operating on urgent trauma cases, with a small number of clinically urgent elective cases being planned wherever possible. Any routine joint replacement surgery is not being carried out currently. Some major joint operations for urgent long waiting patients are being done in other centres, and if you are identified as suitable for this option, you will be contacted by the waiting list team at Royal Glamorgan Hospital with further information. 

If you have any urgent queries relating to the T&O service limitations, please see the contact guidance below: 

• If already under a named consultant, patients can ring the consultant’s secretary on their usual number for advice between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. The secretary will contact the consultant for further advice or review. 
• For problem with a plaster, the plaster room at Royal Glamorgan Hospital can be contacted from 9am – 5pm daily on 01443 443443 Ext 74049.  
• For any urgent queries relating to appointments due to be attended, the outpatient reception can be contacted on 01443 443443 Ext 73293. 
• For overnight emergencies (between 9pm and 9am) that cannot wait until the next day, patients should either come to A&E or contact the out-of-hours GP service. 

For any transport issues, contact the Ambulance Service