Kettering General Hospital is a NHS

National Health Service

The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

 hospital in Kettering

Kettering

Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...

, Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The hospital was founded in 1897 and became part of the NHS in 1994. The hospital covers North Northamptonshire (Kettering

Kettering

Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...

, Corby

Corby

Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...

, Wellingborough

Wellingborough

Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...

, Rushden

Rushden

Rushden is a town and civil parish in the county of Northamptonshire, England.The parish of Rushden covers an area of some and is part of the district of East Northamptonshire. The population of Rushden was estimated at around 28,368, making it the fifth largest town in the county...

 and other towns and villages in the area).

Foundation Trust

Kettering General achieved Foundation Trust status in November 2008, which is a fundamental part of the current NHS reform program. The Foundation Trust has outpatient clinics in Corby, Wellingborough and Rushden. The trust (including Kettering General) has 600 beds, 17 theaters and employs more than 3,200 staff.

New East Northamptonshire outpatients

The trust is planning a new outpatient centre in Irthlingborough

Irthlingborough

Irthlingborough , originally called Artleborough, is a small town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England with a population of 6,179 people according to the 2001 census. It is the smallest town in England to have possessed a league association football team, Rushden & Diamonds. The parish...

, East Northamptonshire

East Northamptonshire

East Northamptonshire is a local government district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council is based in Thrapston and Rushden, which is the largest town in the area...

. Planning permistion has been provided to develop the plans. The new centre would provide around 40,000 outpatient appointments per year, which most of the appointments would be moved from the main hospital at Kettering. The hospital's plan is also the move clinics which are currently provided (as of October 2009) at Rushden Memorial Clinic which is an old Victorian building and can only accommodate 8,000 appointment per year. The new building is hoped to be opened by late 2010.