FALKLAND ISLANDS GOVERNMENT

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

31 March 2021

KEMH asks public to take extra care due to reduced ability to arrange medevac services

King Edward VII Memorial Hospital would like to advise the public that, due to the Covid-19 situation in mainland South America, it has become extremely difficult to arrange medevac services between the Falkland Islands and either Chile or Uruguay.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Beccy Edwards, confirmed: “We’re just asking people to take a bit of extra care if they undertake any activities which might put them at risk of significant injury – for example, if you need to go up on your roof to adjust your TV aerial, first please ask yourself if it is really necessary to do this job now, and if it is, please take extra care and use a cautious approach. It’s only really common sense, but as cases of Covid-19 continue to surge in South America, it is severely impacting on our ability to get people out of the Islands for the critical care and treatment that they may need. Anything the public can do to help reduce the demand for medevac services really helps KEMH and the hospitals we work with in Chile and Uruguay in particular. We really appreciate people being a bit more cautious at this time.”

This situation does not impact on medical interventions and treatments that are already planned for people travelling to the UK, although KEMH continues to work closely with NHS healthcare providers in the event that any further resurgence of Covid-19 in the UK may impact on these plans.

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ENDS