AN ORTHOPAEDIC surgeon is appealing for people in Barnsley to take extra care during the coronavirus outbreak to avoid needless injuries.

Consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon Anthony McWilliams, who works at Barnsley Hospital, said the hospital was having to manage a lot of injuries differently during the pandemic and that his team had been dealing with DIY injuries and those caused by people going out and about when they did not have to.

He said: “I understand that the ‘stay at home and save lives’ message is really difficult, particularly coming up to a sunny Easter weekend. However, people need to appreciate that the hospital has had to change nearly every aspect of how we work to make sure that we give the best treatment possible for COVID-19 patients.

“As a result, our ability to do the sort of day to day trauma operating has been reduced. We are still though getting serious fractures, such as broken hips. Due to the way that the hospital has adapted, we are trying to really focus on the care of frail patients with these major injuries.

“We really need to get a message out to the people of Barnsley. We will always be here for you when you need us. However, the service faces challenges like never before. Please, when doing any activity, think about the consequences.”

Anthony is also calling for people to be more careful when completing DIY projects and to avoid taking unnecessary risks when doing work around the house.

“Understandably, with many people at home, thoughts turn to completing DIY projects. Unfortunately it has resulted in a number of accidents.

“We are also noticing that there are fractures where patients were in situations which did not need to happen. Every patient who has an operation for an avoidable injury means that someone else may not be getting theirs.”