Wishaw General has made changes to its visiting procedure as COVID cases rise.
NHS Lanarkshire have made the decision to reintroduce essential visiting only at the hospital with one visit from one person continuing at Monklands and Hairmyres.
Unfortunately, University Hospital Wishaw is experiencing continued pressure which has resulted in the health board moving to essential visiting only for those patients who would be distressed or suffer by not seeing a family member.
This will help limit the number of people coming into the hospital. There is no change to visiting in the mental health and maternity wards.
Eddie Docherty from the health board told Lanarkshire Live : “We understand that patients in hospital are having a challenging time and want to have their family and friends around them for support.
“Unfortunately, it is our priority to protect our patients and staff as much as is possible and this is why we have made the difficult decision to limit visiting at this time.
"However, this is being review daily and as soon as it is safe to do so, we will be expanding visiting by prioritising access for those closest to the patient.
“We recognise that essential visits, which only permit visits to patients where not seeing a family member would cause particular distress or suffering, is not ideal but necessary for the time being.
“Anyone with questions about visiting arrangements should speak to the nurse in charge of the ward.
“We would also strongly encourage all essential visitors to carry out a Lateral Flow Test prior to visiting their loved one.
“We hope everyone will understand that this decision has been made in the best interests of patients, other visitors and our staff.”
The following measures are also in place to manage any visiting safely and minimise risk:
A lateral flow test must be undertaken and a negative result verbally confirmed to ward staff;
No visits should take place if the visitor has symptoms of COVID-19, or is quarantining because they have had contact with a person with COVID-19;
Physical distancing must be observed in all communal areas of the hospital;
Face coverings must be worn and existing hand hygiene measures should continue;
Movement around other areas must be limited as much as possible and communal gatherings in public areas of the hospital must be avoided.
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