COVID-19: Changes to Visitors Policy

From 22 March we have taken the difficult decision to stop all visitors to patients in our hospital, including our emergency department.

 

August 2020 update: Following recent restrictions, our maternity service users can now bring two consistent birth partners if they are using our Labour Ward or Birth Centre. This can be a member of your family, a doula, birth companion or an independent midwife.

 

For anyone wishing to bring an additional birthing partner, please speak to your midwife for further information about the rules we are asking everyone to follow.  Please note that partner(s) will be required to wear a face mask at all times.

 

The one partner restriction continues to apply to antenatal care, theatres and on the postnatal ward.

 

For other wards, we are allowing visiting in certain circumstances: this could include a patient who is receiving end-of-life care or if you are supporting someone with dementia, a learning disability or autism where not being present would cause the patient to be distressed. With these, and any other individual case, please call the ward area before planning to visit so that our team can advise you if we can support you visiting your relative or friend during this period.

 

We are sorry that this will cause anxiety for some relatives who are understandably anxious to see their loved ones when they are unwell. You may still phone your friends or relatives on their personal mobile phone (these are permitted in our hospital). If they do not have a mobile phone you will find details of phone numbers for each of our wards by clicking here.  We are also able to support patients to stay in contact with relatives - either through Patient-Relative video calls or through our Thinking of You message scheme.

 

Please try to avoid calling between 12.00 - 2.00pm and 5.00 - 6.00pm as our staff will be occupied serving meals to patients.