'Come to A&E on your own if you can', urge KGH bosses

Bosses at Kettering General Hospital have urged people to attend A&E on their own if they can so they can stick to social distance guidance as attendances rise.

Earlier this year the Covid outbreak saw A&E attendances hit a five-year low but with life returning to some normality attendances are rising again.

The hospital's latest appeal, made so they can make sure people can keep their social distance, comes as the number of patients visiting A&E increased to between 200 and 250 per day - similar to pre-Covid levels at this time of year.

In a joint statement, head of nursing for urgent care Ali Gamby and deputy divisional director of urgent care Claire Handford said: “Our emergency and urgent care departments are already starting to get busier due to winter and with cases of coronavirus rising in the community, it is vital that we do everything we can to protect everyone at the hospital.

“Of course, if you are a carer or there are exceptional circumstances, patients can be accompanied by someone else, but we are asking friends and family to drop patients off and return to collect them later.

“We know this isn’t easy for patients but people infected with Covid-19 can have very mild or no symptoms at all but can still pass the virus to others so we must maintain social distancing

within the hospital to reduce the risks to other patients and our staff.”

They asked everyone to help reduce the spread by remembering to wash their hands frequently, wear a face covering or mask and maintain social distancing.

It is important that everyone is wearing a face covering when attending the hospital, unless by doing so would be a risk to them. Find out more

Visiting times remain restricted with a few exceptions.

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