Pensioner reassures patients they can feel safe from Covid-19 if they need to go into hospital for surgery

A pensioner has reassured fellow patients they can feel safe having surgery at a hospital which is keeping apart infectious Covid-19 sufferers and less risky ones.

Peter Lawes, aged 70, from Catford, said rigorous procedures at Lewisham Hospital had reassured him he was not in danger of catching the potentially fatal virus.

He had a hip replacement operation in September and praised all the staff for how they cared for him and kept him safe from Covid.

Peter needed crutches to walk and pain relief before his hip replacement operation.

His pre-op treatment was managed by Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust’s community orthopaedic team.

Peter was then given a Covid test a few days before his operation to check that he was Covid free, before the op was carried out.

He is now able to walk again after surgery.

All staff at the hospital were social distancing and wearing personal protective equipment.

And he was treated in a dedicated part of the hospital, away from Covid-19 patients.

Peter said: “All of the procedures – going into the hospital, while I was waiting to go into the pre-op room, going into the theatre – it is all protecting you 100 per cent from any possibility of being in a place where you would be vulnerable.”

Peter praised the whole team who cared for him, and said: “From the blood nurse who came and visited me at home, to the staff who processed me going into the operating theatre – I feel like I was in a five-star hotel. They were just absolutely supportive and reassuring.”

He urged other local people, who may be worried about Covid, not to delay getting the treatment they need.

He said: “I would say put those worries to one side. Look at yourself, and how you are feeling, and come and experience what I experienced – five-and-a-half weeks past the operation, I’m walking without crutches, I’m pain free, I’m walking upright.

“I’m looking forward to the next few months and onwards. You are safer here (in hospital) than you are outside it, to be honest.”

An  interview with Peter is on Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust’s YouTube channel.

Pictured top: Peter Lawes