Children's ward at Northamptonshire hospital to be used as Covid-19 ward from next week

A children's ward at a Northamptonshire Hospital is to be turned into an additional Covid-19 ward from Monday (January 18).

Services at Skylark - the larger children's inpatient ward at Kettering General Hospital - are likely to be moved elsewhere in the hospital, although bosses are also considering working with Northampton General Hospital.

The 26-bed ward will then be taken over by a respiratory one in a temporary measure to help with the rising Covid-19 hospital admissions. The decision will be kept under constant review.

A spokeswoman for Kettering General Hospital said: "To help us respond to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, children’s inpatient services at Kettering General Hospital are being temporarily moved next week.

"We are considering many options including working with NGH, although at this point it is looking likely an internal ward move will be made.

"This will enable our larger children’s inpatient ward at KGH to be temporarily used as a much-needed additional medical ward to treat adult Covid-19 patients.

"This is a clinical decision to ensure we maintain safe levels of care to both children who need to stay in hospital overnight and adult Covid-19 patients across Northamptonshire.

"It is a temporary arrangement that will be kept under constant review and we will reopen the children’s inpatient ward at KGH as soon as possible.

"A&E services and children’s outpatient appointments are unaffected by this temporary move and will continue to take place where they do now."

A critical incident was declared earlier this week as staff struggled to find enough capacity at the Kettering site.

Message from the editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper while out for your essential shopping.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the highest standards in the world. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you