Third London hospital restricts its children’s A&E amid second coronavirus wave

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) today became the third in the capital to restrict treating children
Getty Images
Ross Lydall @RossLydall5 November 2020

The London NHS trust most inundated with the second wave of Covid-19 patients is to close one of its hospitals at night to children.

The decision to close King George hospital, in Ilford, to overnight paediatric emergencies for six months from November 16 came as the total number of Covid-19 patients in London hospitals was today set to exceed 1,000.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) today became the third in the capital to introduce restrictions on treating children, with child emergencies between 9pm and 9am to be treated 4.3 miles away at Queen’s hospital, in Romford.

UCLH and the Royal Free have already closed their paediatric A&Es 24 hours a day for the winter to enable them to focus on adult covid patients. Young patients seeking care in north London have to go to the Whittington, North Middlesex or Barnet hospitals.

BHRUT, which draws patients from across east London and west Essex, said it had decided to close King George to paediatric emergencies as it battles to cope with increased numbers of patients, staff vacancies and Covid-19-related staff absences.

Government figures show the number of Covid-19 patients it was treating last week was 62 per cent of the level seen during the first peak, raising concerns about its ability to cope as the second wave progresses.

Ambulances already automatically go to Queen’s hospital. Now parents contacting 111 will be given similar advice if hospital care is required for their sick child.

BHRUT said it was “absolutely committed” to re-opening the paediatric emergency department at King George during the night as soon as it was safe to do so. “It is hoped this will be by April 2021, subject to the ongoing impact of the pandemic,” it said.

BHRUT chief medical officer, Dr Magda Smith said: “This is a Covid measure for Covid times. The children’s emergency department will be closed between 9pm and 9am so please do not bring your child there during these hours. This is because there will be no specialist children’s doctor on duty.

“We know it can be confusing to know what to do when your child is unwell or injured. If you need advice, and your child has an urgent, but not life-threatening, health problem, please contact 111 first. This can be done either online or by phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the service is free to use (including from all mobiles). If it’s a life-threatening emergency, phone 999.”

The trust had to close its children’s inpatient ward at King George Hospital, earlier this year, to look after very sick Covid-19 patients. It will remain closed this winter and all children who need to stay in hospital will continue to be admitted to the children’s ward at Queen’s hospital.  

The paediatric A&E nightime closure is said to be a “temporary measure” that will be reviewed by April 2021. Hospital chiefs will continue to monitor the situation on a daily basis.  

Across London last night there were 990 Covid-19 patients in the capital’s hospitals – a level last seen in May – and the number is almost certain to reach four figures today.

When the first lockdown was imposed on March 23, there were 1,515 Covid-19 patients in hospitals in the capital.

BHRUT said last night that covid patients were occupying 19 per cent of its beds.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in