Coronavirus and Spaarne Gasthuis

If you have mild symptoms such as a cold, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, cough, high temperature of 38 degrees or a fever, then avoid social contact. This means you may not have visitors, visit anyone or do grocery shopping.

Only call the doctor if the symptoms worsen (fever higher than 38 degrees and difficulty breathing) and you need medical attention. Do not go to your GP, the general practice or emergency post to consult at the reception desk.

Once you feel better and have had no symptoms for 24 hours, you are cured. Then you can no longer infect others.

For more information about corona
Check www.rivm.nl/en or call 0800 1351. The public number has been specially opened to answer questions about the coronavirus.

If you have mild symptoms such as a cold, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, cough, high temperature of 38 degrees or a fever, please don’t enter the hospital!

If you are a patient and you have to be at the hospital, then preferably come alone. A maximum of one person may accompany you into the hospital if necessary.

To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, we’ve converted as many appointments at the hospital as possible to a telephone consultation. Based on national medical guidelines, your doctor will carefully assess whether your appointment can be held by telephone or whether you still need to come to the hospital. If you have any questions about this, please call your outpatient clinic.

Scheduled appointments
If you have a scheduled appointment, then you will receive a text message that the appointment has been converted to a telephone consultation two days in advance. The doctor or healthcare provider with whom you have the appointment will call you on the telephone number that is recorded in your file. You will be called on the agreed day and time. You may receive a call at a different time than planned. This has to do with how busy we are and the situation surrounding the coronavirus.

In some cases, your appointment will take place at the hospital. If that is the case, you will always be called in advance by an employee of the outpatient clinic. If you do not receive a call, the appointment will be held over the phone.

If your GP has referred you for a first appointment with a specialist, this appointment will also be a telephone consultation with the specialist unless you have been called by one of our employees.

Making an appointment
You can always contact your outpatient clinic by telephone to make an appointment. If you are not yet under treatment at the department where you want to make an appointment, then call your GP for a referral first. In most cases, your appointment with the specialist at the hospital will be by telephone.

Scheduled surgery
Patients whose surgery is being postponed will receive a personal message about this. Those who do not hear anything can count on the scheduled appointments to go ahead.

Spaarne Gasthuis wants urgent and acute care to remain accessible at all times. Emergency operations, oncology care, scheduled caesarean section and other non-postponable treatments and operations will continue. We are doing everything we can to continue to provide as much care as possible. We thank you for your understanding at this difficult time.

Radiology
If you have an appointment at the radiology department, then this appointment will continue. If you have symptoms such as a cold, cough, sore throat or fever, please call the radiology department: +31 (0)23 224 0040.

Ultrasound
Your appointment with the sonographer will continue as usual unless you hear otherwise. If you have a fever, a temperature higher than 38 degrees, cough or are short of breath, then your appointment must be postponed. Please call us to cancel the appointment.

If you have symptoms such as a cold, cough, sore throat or fever, please don’t come to the emergency department or the general practice. Please only call your GP or the general practice (Haarlem: +31(0)23 224 2526/Hoofddorp: +31(0)23 224 2322) for help and advice if your symptoms get worse.

No symptoms
Without symptoms of a cold, cough, sore throat or fever, you can visit the general practice or emergency department for urgent medical care. Always call the general practice beforehand.

Blood tests
You can have blood samples taken at Atalmedial collection locations at the Spaarne Gasthuis.

If you have symptoms such as a cold, cough, sore throat or fever, we ask you not to come to the hospital. However, you may still need blood tests. In that case, you can go to the Atalmedial collection locations at the Spaarne Gasthuis Heemstede. You cannot do this in Haarlem or Hoofddorp.

Check the Atalmedial website for other locations that you can visit if you have the above symptoms.

We notice that patients wait longer to contact the outpatient clinic and the A&E. This is to avoid putting additional burdens on healthcare providers or for fear of becoming infected with corona. If you have symptoms that have nothing to do with corona, please don’t hesitate to contact your healthcare provider by telephone. We especially appeal to vulnerable patients: don’t put it off! If you wait too long, your condition may deteriorate unnecessarily. Fear of being at greater risk of catching the coronavirus at the hospital is not necessary. Our patients with the coronavirus are in a closed ward. Patients with respiratory symptoms are also received in a separate room at the emergency post.

Only one or no accompanying person
If it is necessary for you to visit the hospital, then, if possible, please come alone. If you need assistance, a maximum of 1 person may accompany you into the hospital. This person should not have respiratory symptoms, a fever, cough or cold.

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms in the list below, please contact your doctor or treating specialist as soon as possible! Call 112 immediately in life-threatening situations.

If you are unsure whether your symptoms match those below, please call your GP or the general practice.

Overview of serious symptoms

 Acute heart complaints

• sudden breathlessness
• fainting
• chest pain

Please see the hartstichting.nl website.

Signs of acute failure

• numbness of the face
• loss of strength in arm or leg
• trouble talking
• trouble seeing
• a sudden, severe headache
• confusion

Numbness of body parts

• numbness of body parts as described on the website trombosestichting.nl.

Head + neck

• sudden headache (possibly with vomiting)
• loss of vision or seeing double

Acidification/cramps
Pain when resting

• rapid acidification/leg cramps with light exertion
• blue-black discolouration of limbs

Symptoms after surgery

• red, painful scar
• persistent fever
• other symptoms after surgery

Swelling

• pus-filled swelling (abscess)
• fast-growing growths/tumours

Skin disorders

• rapidly changing moles
• rapidly growing skin spots or wounds
• suspicious skin patches
• sudden appearance of blisters on your skin
• red, non-erasable spots

Blood loss
Vomiting

• persistent anal or vaginal bleeding
• blood loss during menopause
• blood in urine
• blood in vomit

Abdominal pain

• sudden severe stomach ache (possibly with fever)
• tight (painful) swelling of the navel, groin, scrotum or scar

Problems urinating
Fluid retention

• unable to urinate for more than one day
• retains fluids with a weight gain of more than 5 kg in a short time

High blood pressure

• high blood pressure with headache/reduced vision

Fever and chills

• fever and/or chills for several days (sepsis)
• persistent high fever > 39.0C

Questions relating to medication

• symptoms after recently starting medication
• inability to keep hydrocortisone down for patients with adrenal gland problems or chronic high dose steroid use
• fever when taking thiamazole for a thyroid disorder
• problems related to diabetes or thyroid disease in pregnant women

Diabetic patients

• type 1 diabetes patients with high blood sugar, vomiting or shortness of breath
• type 1 diabetes with an (insulin) pump that is not functioning properly

Eyes and field of vision

• sudden problems with vision
• sudden flashes of light/seeing spots
• sudden distortions in the field of vision that do not go away

Bones and joints

• suspicion of a bone fracture/injury
• possibly dislocated joint or joint prosthesis
• possible infection joint or joint prosthesis

Injuries

• serious injuries with possible permanent damage
• injuries to hands with possible permanent damage

Male genital organs

• severe pain in testicle
• injury to penis or testicle
• erection that does not go down

Children – serious symptoms

• sudden shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• sudden stomach ache
• symptoms of a urinary tract infection
• fever in new-born babies
• severe headache
• sudden loss of part of the field of vision, flashes of light or sudden double vision
• numbness of body parts

The elderly – serious symptoms

• confusion
• sudden behavioural changes
• sudden problems with functioning
• rapid deterioration without a clear explanation
• sudden decrease in mobility
• elderly people who suddenly fall often
• frail elderly people with sudden presentation of a high risk of organ-specific loss of function

Symptoms during pregnancy

• all complaints during pregnancy

From April 2022 there will be no more restrictions in visiting arrangements Spaarne Gasthuis. This means:

• Patients may recieve 2 visitors.
• Visiting period is between 14:00 - 20:00.
• Different visiting times apply for the AOA, EHLH, Geriatrics, Heart Monitoring, IC, VKC and psychiatry.
• A visitor is not mandatoryto wear a nose and mouth mask.

We are doing everything we can at the hospital to create a safe environment for patients and employees. You can read more about this below:

• Patients with respiratory symptoms, those suspected of corona or those who’ve tested positive for corona, are nursed in a separate department.
• We’re changing appointments at the outpatient clinic to a telephone consultation wherever possible. We inform people about this in advance.
• If it’s medically necessary for your appointment to take place at the hospital, then we’ll call you before your appointment. We will then ask if you have respiratory symptoms that may indicate corona. If so, we will see if the appointment can be postponed for 2 weeks. If that isn’t possible, then the appointment will take place as planned and your healthcare provider will wear a mask and gloves.
• Please come to the hospital alone. If you need assistance, a maximum of 1 person may accompany you into the hospital. This person should not have respiratory symptoms, a fever, cough or cold.
• Healthcare providers who have symptoms do not come to the hospital and are tested for corona.

Patient information meetings can again take place physically in the hospital under the conditions of the national corona measures.