Kettering Hospital moves services to enable further RAAC inspections
Kettering General Hospital is moving a number of services from the top floor of its Rockingham Wing building so surveyors can continue to assess the condition of RAAC panels in the roof.
The presence of RAAC has been found in the roof of the building, which is home to maternity and gynaecology services and a medical ward.
It was discovered late last year and the hospital had already moved some services in December so that surveyors could carry out intrusive assessments without interrupting patient care.
Since then, surveyors have been working their way through the building to inspect all areas of the roof.
S o far inspections have only been partially completed but have found a number of individual RAAC panels which are in a critical condition.
The hospital has promptly closed these areas, which has meant it has now run out of additional space to move teams, patients and beds around to accommodate these vital assessments.
To enable surveyors access to the rest of the roof to ascertain the condition and the extent of remedial works needed, the hospital has decided to move more of the remaining services on the top floor of Rockingham Wing to other parts of our hospital in the next week.
Deborah Needham, Hospital Chief Executive, said: “The safety of our patients and our colleagues is our number one priority, and our teams have been working extremely hard to make sure we move our services in a safe, planned and calm manner to minimise disruption."
Surveyors have confirmed that the ceiling/floor between the ground floor and first floor of Rockingham Wing are made from solid concrete and therefore do not require further assessments.
As a result, services on the ground floor will continue as normal.
The hospital has contacted relatives and loved ones of any patients that have been moved and have kept partner organisation informed about all developments.
The moves will mean the hospital has a reduced bed capacity at a time of operational pressures.
The hospital continues to work with Northamptonshire health and care system partners to identify appropriate care settings in the community for patients who are medically-fit to leave hospital.