South Yorkshire hospitals stop visitors as Covid cases rise
Non-essential visitors are being banned as coronavirus cases increas
Last updated 19th Oct 2020
Hospitals across Sheffield are the latest to see visitor restrictions reintroduced, as coronavirus cases continue to rise across South Yorkshire.
From today (Monday 19th) visiting is not allowed unless in exceptional circumstances such as end of life or birth partners.
The new rules for inpatient visiting and outpatients apply to the Northern General Hospital, Hallamshire Hospital, Weston Park Hospital, Jessop Wing and Charles Clifford Dental Hospital as well as community health buildings
A spokesperson said: "We do appreciate how hard this is to not see your loved ones in person but their safety has to be the priority.
"For all other exceptional circumstances please discuss this with the nurse in charge of the ward over the phone ahead of your visit."
Patients with appointments or operations are being told to still attend them as planned unless the Trust contacts them with different instructions.
Barnsley Hospital also suspended visitors yesterday, while Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals stopped them on Friday.
Rules at Rotherham Hospital are similar - although, these have been in force for the last few months.
If you were planning on visiting someone in hospital, we have put together the latest restrictions at South Yorkshire's hospitals:
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals
Until further notice, visiting will only be permitted in the following circumstances:
*For patients who are receiving end-of-life care or are terminally ill and in the late stages of their illness.
*For birthing partners in maternity units.
*For birthing partners can accompany mothers to 18-21 week anomaly scans.
*For parents or legal guardians within our Paediatric and Neonatal services.
*For long-stay patients and those with dementia or where best interest decisions or exceptional clinical/social matters are being discussed, at the discretion of the nurse or midwife in charge.
A spokesperson said: "We have taken this extremely difficult decision to protect our patients, staff and wider communities. We understand that friends and family will want to see their loved ones during their hospital stay, and we will continue to support virtual visiting and other alternative arrangements."
Barnsley Hospital
Until further notice, visiting will only be permitted in the following circumstances and PPE must be worn:
*For patients who are receiving end-of-life care or are terminally ill and in the late stages of their illness.
*For birthing partners in maternity units.
*For birthing partners to accompany mothers to 12 and 20 week ultrasound appointments.
*By arrangement with your midwife, to provide emotional support for women attending scans during early pregnancy.
*For parents or legal guardians in the children’s unit.
*For long-stay patients and those with dementia or where best interest decisions or exceptional clinical/social matters are being discussed, at the discretion of the nurse or midwife in charge.
A spokesperson for the hospital said: "We have taken this difficult and important decision to protect patients and staff. We understand this will be upsetting for patients and their families, however the restrictions are in place to reduce the number of people on wards and departments, and to reduce the risk of transmitting Covid-19. We regularly review our visiting guidance so please check this website for the latest information."
Sheffield:
*Visiting is not allowed unless in exceptional circumstances such as end of life or birth partners.
*People with outpatient appointments, antenatal appointments/scans or procedures must attend alone, unless they need assistance.
*Only birth partners are allowed to accompany women in labour and there is no visiting by anyone else.
Rotherham:
Until further notice, the following current restrictions remain in place for adult inpatient areas:
*One named visitor for patients with dementia or learning disabilities
*One visitor at a time (after discussion with the Nurse in charge) for patients receiving end of life care
*In addition, the following restrictions have been slightly adapted based on national guidance and will remain in place until further notice:
Children and young people (Children’s Assessment Unit and the Children’s ward):
*Where parents (or guardians) live separately, one can visit a child at any one time.
*One parent may exchange with the other parent so both have the opportunity to visit a child each day.
Special Care Baby Unit
*Two parent or guardians may visit together if they are from the same household or social bubble.
Maternity
*One nominated birth partner can be present throughout labour and birth. Where possible, it is recommended that partners should be from the same household or the same social bubble as the woman.