Princess Grace Hospital fully prepared for COVID-19

With the number of COVID-19 cases currently rising rapidly, Princess Grace Hospital has taken the decision to move into a new phase in its organisation, creating two wards dedicated to treating patients who have tested positive for the disease.

This overall increase in hospital capacity should enable the teams at Princess Grace Hospital to cope with rising demand over the coming days, in line with the epidemiological forecasts produced by the Institut Pasteur and given that the vast majority of COVID+ patients who are admitted to hospital do not have a severe form of the disease that requires intensive care, and that the hospital’s teams are determined to maintain scheduled activities to avoid risking delays to treatment.

Plan for treating COVID+ patients

On 5 November 2020, Princess Grace Hospital thus stepped up its capacity to treat patients by:

• Opening a 16-bed ward specifically for COVID+ patients showing symptoms of pneumonia, with the ability to expand to 30 beds if required.

• Installing seven critical care posts in addition to the existing eight intensive care beds and four beds in the continuous surgical monitoring unit.

Other COVID+ patients continue to be admitted to the specialist ward relating to their primary condition, since they may have been hospitalised for different reasons.

To help put this organisation in place, Princess Grace Hospital and the Monaco Institute of Sports Medicine and Surgery (IM2S) have expanded their partnership so that all osteoarticular emergencies arising during the day are now being handled by IM2S, seven days a week. The Monaco Cardiothoracic Centre is also standing by to support the plan.

Princess Grace Hospital thus has sufficient beds to absorb a growing number of patients testing positive for COVID-19 who live within its healthcare catchment area and whose health requires medical monitoring and treatment.

Visiting

Visiting has now been suspended across all medical, surgical and obstetric services, unless authorised by the head of service.

It is, however, permitted, subject to conditions and in strict compliance with barrier measures, in the psychiatric and geriatric services.

Recommendations for users

In advance of any scheduled hospital admission, a multidisciplinary discussion can assess the benefits versus the risks on a case-by-case basis. Consequently, patients are invited to continue with their treatment as normal, and will not be contacted by Princess Grace Hospital unless it is appropriate to reschedule their hospital admission.

Do not take it upon yourself to delay your treatment!