St George’s bosses urge parents not to stay away if their kids need children’s A&E amid hopes coronavirus cases in London are stabilising

By Sian Bayley, Local Democracy Reporter

One of London’s busiest hospitals has reminded parents that its children’s emergency department is still open, despite the coronavirus outbreak.

St George’s Hospital in Tooting is the largest healthcare provider in South-west London and a major teaching hospital.

Yesterday the hospital sent out a statement on Twitter reminding parents that the children’s emergency department is still operating as normal, after seeing a drop in the number of attendances.

Dr Maya Kerr, a member of the paediatric team, said: “We have noticed in the last weeks that there’s been a drop in the number of children coming to A&E.

“We are still here and should your child be unwell, we’d really like to see them.

“Please, if you want advice, ring 111 or see your GP first, but if you are concerned, or it’s an emergency, please bring them to A&E.

“It is really important that parents do this even in the time of Covid-19.”

As of Wednesday, 179 patients had sadly died at St George’s, having tested positive for the coronavirus.

The trust said: “Our thoughts are with the families of the patients affected – and, in all cases, we would ask that their privacy is respected at this time.”

At yesterday’s government press briefing it was announced that the numbers of people in hospital with coronavirus had dropped five per cent in London over the past 24 hours – compared to one per cent in the UK as a whole.

It is hoped that serious coronavirus cases are stabilising in the capital.