SPECIAL cabins for patients who suspect they have the coronavirus have been put up at the John Radcliffe and Horton General hospitals.

A statement from Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) today said that 'following national guidance' all hospitals with Emergency Departments were putting in place 'NHS 111 pods'.

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It added: "So that anyone attending hospital with symptoms of the virus can be kept isolated from other patients and avoid causing unnecessary pressure in A&E."

The trust confirmed the Portakabins were now in place at the main entrances of the John Radcliffe and Horton General Hospitals. 

Oxford Mail: NHS 111 pod at Horton General Hospital. Picture: OUHNHS 111 pod at Horton General Hospital. Picture: OUH

It explained: "They are there to deflect people who might otherwise go into one of our Emergency Departments.

"As neither the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre nor the Churchill Hospital have emergency departments, they do not need pods."

It comes after Sam Kent, who was stood outside the John Radcliffe Hospital’s A&E department last Saturday night said at around midnight she saw people being ‘ushered to a cabin’ to be tested for coronavirus.

A picture of an ambulance appearing to be being decontaminated by people in white protective suits and face masks at the Headington site last week was  shared with the paper.

There was also panic among shoppers in Cowley this weekend as paramedics dressed in protective suits and facemasks were spotted outside a supermarket.

Bystanders took to social media to warn of a potential coronavirus-related incident at Sainsbury's at the John Allen Centre, off Between Towns Road.

OUH advised everyone could 'continue to play their part' by taking 'simple steps' such as washing hands to prevent the spread of infection, and calling NHS 111 first before going to the doctors or A&E if they have any concerns about or show symptoms of coronavirus.