Covid test requirements for visitors ended at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital

Hospital visitors in Northamptonshire will no longer be asked for proof of a negative lateral flow test now they are no longer freely available.

But medics at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital say visits must still be booked, you still need to wear a mask and sanitise — and must stay away if you have ANY Covid symptoms.

Ministers scrapped free home testing from Friday (April 1) despite NHS England figures revealing a jump in the number of Covid patients in Northamptonshire hospitals.

Latest data showed 165 were being treated for the virus in the county’s two main hospitals on Tuesday (March 30) — up from 105 just ten days earlier.

It also confirmed 13 Covid patients sadly died in county hospitals in the week to Thursday (March 30), including 12 at NGH..

Hospital bosses are keeping some visiting restrictions in place, however:

■ One visitor is allowed for 45 minutes a day on open adult inpatient wards, but must be pre-booked with the ward in advance.

■ Visits on wards closed due to Covid-19 and patients with the virus are not permitted, unless in exceptional circumstances.

■ Visiting is at the discretion of a nurse in charge for wards with more vulnerable patients.

■ Visiting in outpatient areas, emergency departments, urgent care and diagnostic appointments will be at the discretion of the nurse in charge.

■ Maternity and paediatric visiting remains open in line with national guidance.

■ Paediatric visits remain as one resident parent at a time. Parents are required to take a lateral flow test before they arrive. Parents can swap once during their stay.

■ For maternity visiting women can have one birth partner attend during their stay whilst in labour, subject to testing. Post-natal wards have set times and restrictions. Birth partners can attend all appointments relating to pregnancy including scans and throughout labour — and also attend wards by appointment only.

A spokesman for NGH and KGH warned: “Some departments have exceptions which can be found on our website, while all guidance may change at any time depending on our local Covid-19 situation and hospital response.”