Visiting restrictions are being eased this week at Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary and the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and community hospitals.
All inpatients can now have up to two visitors for an hour each day across all the hospital sites run by the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust.
There will still be infection prevention measures in place, including suspending of visiting in any areas that have an outbreak.
In multi-bed bays, to prevent overcrowding, each bed will be allocated a dedicated timeslot for their visitors. This will be managed on each ward and patients will be encouraged to share their timeslot with family members where they are able.
Infection prevention measures in place will include:
- Suspending visiting in outbreak areas (wards in outbreak will be noted on the trust’s website).
- Reminding visitors not to attend if they are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 or feeling unwell.
- Actively encouraging visitors to wear a mask at all times during their visit
- As with arrangements prior to the pandemic, children under five are discouraged from attending where possible.
- Lateral flow tests will not be required for visitors.
In outpatients, diagnostic settings and the emergency department, patients may be accompanied by one close family contact, or somebody important to the patient, to support the patient with complex/difficult decision making.
Jill Foster, chief nurse said, “During the pandemic restricted visiting has been difficult for our patients and their families. It is well known that having visitors aids recovery of our patients and greatly improves the overall patient experience so we are doing everything we can to ensure it’s implemented in a safe way.
“Cases in the community have increased which means that we have also seen an increase of cases in our hospitals. Many of our COVID positive patients are incidental, having been identified through our screening process and not the primary reason for admission to hospital.
“Across the trust, infection prevention measures such as mask wearing and social distancing are in place to minimise the risk of transmission.”
