Covid numbers trigger tougher visitor restrictions for all Cornwall's hospitals
Cornwall currently has the highest number of coronavirus patients in hospital since the first wave of the pandemic
Last updated 20th Jan 2022
Tougher visiting restrictions have been brought into force at all of Cornwall's hospitals because of high Covid numbers.
At the moment, Cornwall currently has its highest numbers of patients with coronavirus in hospitals since the first wave of the pandemic.
As of Wednesday (19th January) there were 73 hospital patients with the virus across Cornwall, that is up 20 on the same time last week.
Health bosses say restricting visiting is one of the hardest things they have to do but they must help to keep patients and staff safe.
New measures have been brought in for all hospitals within the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and the Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust.
From today (20th January) at Treliske, visiting is restricted to only those patients who are at end of life, maternity, paediatrics and where there are exceptional circumstances.
Patients meeting these criteria will be allowed one named visitor during their admission (both parents in paediatrics and neonatal), except for where patients are at end of life, when up to 3 will be permitted, or 4 with ward leader discretion in exceptional circumstances.
Regardless of the option agreed, all visitors (including people attending for outpatient appointments and those accompanying them) must book their visit in advance and present a negative lateral flow result taken on the day of the visit.
A spokesperson for RCHT and CFT said: “Restricting visiting at our acute and community hospitals during the pandemic has been one of the hardest decisions we have had to make but we must do everything possible to keep vulnerable patients and our staff safe and to reduce the risk of outbreaks. Cutting down the number of people coming into our hospitals plays vital role in doing that.
“As has been the case throughout the pandemic the impact on our hospitals has been around 2-3 weeks behind the national picture. We currently have the highest numbers of covid positive patients in our hospitals that we’ve seen since the first wave.
“We realise there will be exceptional circumstances and continue to take a compassionate and flexible approach to visiting. We also have a range of ways in which we are helping patients to keep in touch with family and friends.”
Bosses say they will review the situation regularly, as they have done throughout the pandemic.
You can find all the details about visiting arrangements within the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust here, for Treliske, the West Cornwall and St Michael's hospitals.
And you can find all the arrangements for visitors to community hospitals within the Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust here.