Northampton General Hospital responds to visitors 'ripping santiser dispensers' from walls and stealing supplies

"Three dispensers have been ripped from walls around the site, and we’ve seen people coming to the site to fill up their dispensers from our supplies."
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Northampton General Hospital is asking for the public to "respect" their efforts to keep patients safe in the face of residents reportedly stealing hand sanitiser from wards.

The Chronicle & Echo reportedly earlier today (March 6) that the hospital is facing a shortage of hand sanitiser because relatives and members of the public are stealing it from the wards.

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Bottles of sanitiser normally kept at the end of beds for staff to disinfect their hands and stop the spread of superbugs like MRSA are being swiped by visitors.

Northampton General is dealing with visitors stealing hand sanitiser in the face of a national shortage.Northampton General is dealing with visitors stealing hand sanitiser in the face of a national shortage.
Northampton General is dealing with visitors stealing hand sanitiser in the face of a national shortage.

Meanwhile, three dispensers have reportedly been ripped wholesale from walls.

It comes as the UK is facing a national shortage of hand sanitiser because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Now, Northampton General Hospital has explained the extent of the thefts and is asking for the public to "respect" their efforts to keep all patients safe.

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A spokeswoman for the hospital said: "Over the past few days we’ve seen a marked increase in the number of hand gel dispensers being taken from our ward areas, including those at the end of our patients’ beds.

"Three dispensers have been ripped from walls around the site, and we’ve seen people coming to the site to fill up their dispensers from our supplies.

"We don’t have an unlimited supply and would ask that visitors to the site respect the fact that we are doing all we can to keep our patients, visitors and staff safe, and we need their support. Hand washing is the most effective way to minimise the risk of infection."

The hospital is also running 'simulation exercises' to prepare if they need to rapidly transfer patients to established isolation pods, and to help staff put on protective gear quickly.

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As of time of writing (March 6) there are no cases of corvid-19 coronavirus at Northampton General Hospital.

However, two cases of the virus have been confirmed in Northamptonshire.

Anyone with outpatient appointments who suspect they have symptoms or have travelled to any high-risk countries in the past 14 days should not go to hospital.

Anyone concerned they may have symptoms should contact the NHS on 111 for advice. Appointments will be rearranged.

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