Updated 2 July 2020:
Visiting arrangements
We have reviewed our current visiting restrictions at NGH and listened to the views of our patients and our staff. We are also mindful of the impact that Covid-19 continues to have on communities across the country and, having taken all issues into consideration, we have taken the decision to keep our current restrictions in place for a little while longer.
This has not been an easy decision for us to make and we know that some of our patients and their loved ones will be disappointed. However, our priority is to keep our patients and staff safe and not having visitors on site at the present time will help us to do this. We appreciate the support we have received from the local community and want to assure you all that we are looking forward to welcoming visitors back to our hospital as soon as it is safe for us and them to do so.
We are continuing to offer the relatives helpline, letters to loved ones and video calls during this time.
We understand there may be upsetting or difficult circumstances when patients may be at the end of their life, and we will do all we can to support relatives to visit in such circumstances. Any such arrangements will be agreed by the nurse in charge and are at the discretion of the particular ward area.
Updated 26 June 2020:
Blood taking services
The blood taking unit (phlebotomy) will reopen in its original location on the Northampton General Hospital site, Area H, for paediatric and adult patients.
The phone lines will be open from the 29th June 2020.
We have made a change to our service and all patients must now have an appointment to attend the blood taking unit.
Appointments for both paediatric and adult blood taking can be booked Monday to Friday between 9am and 3:30pm by phoning on 01604 523303 or 01604 544190.
To minimise the risk to patients during the pandemic, as a temporary measure, patients attending appointments will not need to bring their Pathology Request Form with them.
The adult phlebotomy service will be from 8am - 4pm Monday to Friday and 8am – 12:30pm on Saturday.
The paediatric phlebotomy service will return to the blood taking unit 8am – 11:30am Monday – Friday.
All patients must wear a face covering, maintain social distancing and must attend alone where possible. The waiting area has limited spaces so please only attend at the time of your appointment. If there are any reasons why wearing a face covering or attending alone is not possible, please inform the team when booking your appointment.
Directions to the blood taking unit.
Updated: 12 May 2020
Media Statement: Death of patients with COVID-19
Please note that we will not be publishing information about Covid-19 related deaths until further notice.
The national press notice will be issued after 2pm. This contains the numbers of deaths by region, for deaths where there is a positive Covid-19 test.
Additional statistical information is posited here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-daily-deaths/ when the press notice is issued. Please check the link from 2pm onwards.
04 June 2020
From Monday 8th June our children's blood taking service (Paediatric Phlebotomy clinic) will be an appointment only service.
To book an appointment please phone 01604 545290. This line will be answered Monday to Thursday between 13:00 and 16:00.
There will be 15 slots available on Mondays and Thursdays between the hours of 09:30am and 11:00am. The appointments will still take place in the Children's Outpatients department.
Running this appointment system means we can safely follow the guidelines on social distancing.
22 May 2020
From 1st June the midwifery teams at Northampton General Hospital will be opening three community maternity hubs for women to see a community midwife about their pregnancy.
The three hubs mean that pregnant women in the county can access support in the community without needing to visit the main hospital site. The hubs will run as appointment sessions to maintain social distancing and to provide individual support for women.
All women who are scheduled to have their 28 week appointment, or those who have an appointment with a doctor will still have their appointments on the hospital site. Those attending the hospital for an appointment with a doctor will also have the opportunity to see a midwife, so will not need to attend one of the hubs.
Any patients with an existing appointment will receive a letter informing them of which hub to attend. If there is a change to the date and time of their appointment, this will be included in the letter.
The three hubs will serve different areas of the town with the majority of appointments taking place at Franklins Gardens. Patients will be contacted and told which hub they will visit and details of their appointment.
The three hubs will be located at:
- Franklins Gardens, Weedon Road, NN5 5BG
- Danetre Hospital, London Road, NN11 4DY
- Weston Favell Health Centre, Billing Brook Road, NN3 8DW
Anne Richley, maternity matron, thanked the Northampton Saints for their support “This is a very exciting move for us and we are grateful to the Northampton Saints for supporting us with this temporary move. We will be contacting all women to let them know of the changes to the service and we are excited to be providing these community locations for women to receive their antenatal care”.
If women have any queries the appointments line 01604 523364 is open from Monday-Friday 08.30-16.00.
For women with new pregnancies they can contact 01604 545430 or email ngh-tr.admincommunitymidwives@nhs.net
7 May 2020
Changes to the eye casualty service from Monday 11 May
To help to keep our patients and staff safe we are changing the way we operate our eye casualty service. The service will no longer operate as a walk-in service. Instead patients will need to contact us by phone before coming to the hospital. This means our team can provide support and medical advice over the phone without patients needing to come to hospital. If you do need to come to the hospital for medical help the team will arrange this with you.Please contact the service on 01604 545085 or 01604 634700 ext 8011
Eye casualty services are available:
Monday- Saturday 8.30am- 4.30pm
Sundays and Bank Holidays- 9.00am- 12.30pm.