Salisbury District Hospital closing to visitors as Covid infections rise
Visiting will be suspended at midnight tomorrow (1st January)
Last updated 31st Dec 2021
Bosses at Salisbury District Hospital have announced visiting will be suspended due to an increasing number of Covid-19 infections in the local community.
The restrictions will come into force at midnight tomorrow evening (1st January).
There will be a few exceptions such as those visiting patients receiving end of life care, the maternity ward and those visiting children.
The hospital currently has 15 patients with Covid-19, earlier in the week five patients were on a ventilator.
Earlier today it was sadly announced another patient had died with coronavirus
Chief Executive of Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust Stacey Hunter said;
"It is with huge regret that we are having to stop the majority of visiting from midnight on 1st January. This is a response to the growing rates of COVID-19 infection in the local community. We appreciate how important visiting loved ones is and will be keeping the situation under constant review. When community COVID-19 rates fall to an acceptable level we will re-open visiting as soon as possible.
"We do offer a Message to a Loved One service and our ward teams are always happy to help facilitate meetings via digital platforms such as Zoom and FaceTime. For further information about exceptions please contact the relevant ward and the team will be happy to advise. "
"Please remember to follow all COVID related guidance and wear a face mask when required and maintain hand hygiene. The best protection against COVID-19 infection remains the vaccination programme and I would encourage everyone to get vaccinated and take up the offer of a booster as soon as possible."
Great Western Hospital in Swindon has also introduced similar measures.
Rising coronavirus cases in Wiltshire
1,164 new people had a confirmed positive test result reported today (31st December).
Between the 25th and 31st of December 5,828 people had a confirmed positive test result. This shows an increase of 48.4% compared to the previous 7 days.