Temporary night time closure of the Children’s Emergency Department at King George Hospital extended until June
Providing safe, high quality treatment and care to children and young people is, and always will be, our priority.
Our two hospitals have been badly hit by Covid-19 and this has had an impact on some of our services; on our ability to recruit new doctors; and has meant some of our paediatricians have had to shield.
We had to close our children’s inpatient ward at King George Hospital, at the height of the pandemic, to look after very sick Covid-19 patients. All children who need to stay in hospital will continue to be admitted to our children’s ward at Queen’s Hospital.
In November 2020 we announced the temporary overnight closure of the children’s Emergency Department at King George Hospital (KGH) because we didn’t have enough staff to provide specialist children’s doctors at King George Hospital at night. Our hope then was to reopen in April 2021, subject to the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
Over the past four months, we have been successfully recruiting new doctors. We have decided, on the grounds of safety, that we can now reopen the children’s Emergency Department at King George Hospital overnight on Monday 7th June 2021.
Until then, please do not bring your child to the Emergency Department at King George Hospital between 9pm and 9am, as no specialist children’s doctors will be on duty.
If you contact 111 between 9pm and 9am, you will be advised to bring your child to Queen’s Hospital in Romford, if they need to be seen by one of our emergency doctors.
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 children’s Emergency Department at King George Hospital remains open during the day between the hours of 9am and 9pm, seven-days-a-week.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) continues to provide helpful advice on what to do when your child is unwell. Please visit their website to download their poster.
Departamentul de urgență pentru copii al Spitalului King George este închis temporar până la 7 iunie 2021.