Please attend KGH’s A&E department on your own where this is possible
People needing urgent and emergency (A&E) care at Kettering General Hospital are being urged to attend on their own, wherever possible.
This is to ensure that all patients and staff can safely comply with social distancing guidance.
The appeal comes as numbers attending the hospital’s Emergency Department (A&E) are rising with the approach of winter with 200-250 patients per day attending the department – which is 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:
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Wash your hands frequently
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Wear a face covering or mask
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Maintain social distancing.