Prime Minster Silveria Jacobs
PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister and Chair of the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) Silveria Jaobs says she will permit General Practitioners (GP) offices to remain open.
This will be particularly for emergencies and to allow doctors to work from their offices and therefore remain in contact with their clients and patients, said Jacobs in the National Address on Monday, April 6.
According to the Jacobs GPs will continue to serve their patients via telephone or online. Patients who may need to meet with their GP on a face to face basis are advised to send a request to their GP who will then have this request approved by the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA Richard Panneflek. Once approved this request will allow the patient to move from either their home to the doctor’s office or to the pharmacies.
Prescriptions will be sent via email or WhatsApp to the pharmacies which will then facilitate delivery to the patients.
“I’m hoping this is now clear to all GPs as well as patients and including those quarantined and isolated persons who also need to remain in good contact with their GPs so that they are properly monitored should their symptoms become worse or in terms of our quarantined should they start to have symptoms at all,” she added.
Permitting doctors’ offices to remain open facilitates services to persons in need of care and thus reduce unnecessary visits to the hospital’s emergency room.
“If too many non-emergencies are going to the emergency room this will cause a further burn out which is unnecessary as we will like emergencies at the hospital to be dealing with real emergencies,” said Jacobs.
“As you know we have COVID-19 related emergencies as well as regular emergencies and as so many are off the road we do then expect that there will be zero accidents that would cause any calls to go the emergency and to your ambulance,” she added.
