Pressures Continue at Northamptonshire's Hospitals

Health leaders in Northamptonshire are urging members of the public to only come to hospital Accident and & Emergency departments if it is absolutely necessary.

They are also urging relatives of patients who have been discharged from the hospital and are ready to go home to collect them in a timely manner to help speed up the admission of patients waiting in A&E.

Kettering General Hospital and Northampton General Hospital are continuing to experience extremely high numbers of attendees at their Accident and Emergency departments. Both hospitals continue to see unprecedented numbers of people who are acutely ill and need high priority hospital care. As a result, teams across the counties hospitals are under significant pressure in meeting this demand.

People with minor injuries and ailments should not attend at the A&E department and are warned they will face longer waits than normal as more serious cases are prioritised.

Health leaders are issuing a reminder for the public to use alternative NHS services where appropriate such as NHS 111, local pharmacies, and to make an appointment with their GP in the normal way. The Corby Urgent Care Centre should only be used if their condition cannot be seen by a GP or pharmacist and is clearly very serious.

Plans are being put in place to alleviate the pressure. Staff are continuing to do all they can to ensure that everyone coming into hospital who need help gets the care they need.