Our emergency departments are safe to use and open as usual, so if you experience a life-threatening emergency, you should dial 999 for help.
If you have concerns about your health, please seek help. The best way to do this if it’s not an emergency is by calling NHS 111 or visiting www.111.nhs.uk to find out which service is best for you.
NHS 111 can signpost you to the nearest service and, where appropriate, can book you an appointment at one of the urgent treatment centres in east Kent. Urgent treatment centres provide treatment for minor injuries and illnesses that are urgent but not life threatening.
If you need to come to hospital
- Please enter the hospital via the A&E entrance. This will help us make sure too many people are not walking through the hospital at any one time.
- Please only bring one friend or relative with you. This is because we need to limit the number of people in the department.
When you arrive
If the department is busy, we might ask you to come back at a specific time. This will help us keep you and other patients safe by maintaining social distancing in the waiting area as much as possible.
You will be assessed by a member of staff before we ask you to come back at an allotted time.
If you have already phoned NHS 111, you may have been given an allotted time to go to A&E. In this case, we will not ask you to come back later and you will be booked into the department.
Supporting you and our staff
Thank you for helping us maintain your safety. Please respect the space of fellow patients and do not attend an A&E or Urgent Care Centre if you have any symptoms of the virus or any other infectious disease.
Please also be patient with our staff, who are working in new ways to maintain your safety.
We are doing everything we can to maintain the cleanliness of our hospitals with regular cleaning.
Hand sanitiser dispensers are available throughout the hospitals.
Thank you again for all your help as we work together to keep everyone safe.
