Certain cancer treatments can temporarily weaken the immune system. This is particularly the case with chemotherapy.  As a result cancer patients are more susceptible to contracting Covid-19, and so two weeks ago we made the decision to postpone routine, planned cancer surgeries and chemotherapy for patients where the risk to the patient of postponing the treatment was less than the potential threat of them catching Covid-19.

Our multi-disciplinary training programme, aimed at preparing doctors and nurses from across our hospitals to safely care for patients with Covid-19, was featured on BBC London News.

As you will be aware, the coronavirus (Covid-19) situation is changing rapidly and we need to make sure we’re as prepared as possible to keep people safe. 

That is why we have updated the measures we are taking to keep our patients safe. We are seeing an increase in the number of seriously ill patients (who have tested positive for Covid-19) at our hospitals. This number will increase in the days and weeks ahead. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, however we must prioritise our resources to help those who are most in need.

All our teams are currently working extremely hard as we, along with the rest of the NHS, tackle Covid-19. That’s why we wanted to give our colleagues the spotlight, as part of our weekly In Conversation With interviews, to share what they’re doing and the impact on them.

We know our cancer patients will be concerned to hear some chemotherapy appointments are being delayed. This is only in non-urgent cases. Our team is there to support you, so please call if you need any advice or reassurance.

We have made some further significant changes to keep our patients safe as we deal with Covid-19.

Our Trust took the centrepiece on BBC Radio 4 show, The World This Weekend, on Sunday (22 March), as our Chief Medical Officer Magda Smith talked about our preparations to deal with COVID-19.