Visiting rules at hospitals are being changed as a result of rising COVID cases.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn is only allowing visitors in for ‘exceptional circumstances’ while United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) which runs Boston Pilgrim Hospital and Lincoln County Hospital says it “is taking a new risk-based approach to patient visiting to maximise visiting opportunities whilst keeping staff and patients safe”.
All ULHT inpatient areas are currently given a classification of low, medium and high risk, reflecting patient conditions and infection prevention and control measures.
For each level, different visiting arrangements will be in place from this week.
“This will be determined at individual patient level, depending upon their risk rating and the risk level of the areas they are residing in.
Director of nursing at ULHT, Dr Karen Dunderdale, said: “We are aware that changes in COVID case numbers in our area have resulted in relatively regular changes to our visiting policies over the last 18 months.
“As we move forward, we wanted to have a process in place that is clear for everyone, and is able to ‘flex’ depending upon the patient and ward area, rather than keep changing our visiting policy.
“This approach means that we will be able to maintain a consistent approach to visiting over the coming months, as areas, and individual patients, can move between risk ratings.
“We feel this will be the best approach to ensure we maximise visiting opportunities for those who are being cared for in low risk areas, whilst ensuring we keep our patients, staff and visitors safe.”
The QEH meanwhile has experienced a number of cases at the start of this month.
“As a result we have made the difficult decision to restrict visiting in order to keep our patients and their families safe,” said Alice Webster, Chief Nurse at QEH. “We know how important it is for our patients to receive visits from their loved ones, so we have made exemptions in exceptional circumstances. In these cases, relatives should make contact with the ward to make special arrangements.
“The safety of our patients and staff remains our top priority.”
