NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has confirmed that several of the city's hospital wards will reinstate visiting restrictions.
The measure have been put in place to help protect patients, staff and visitors from the significant rise in Covid-19 in recent weeks.
Nightingale wards at Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) and shared accommodation in adult acute wards in the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) will move to essential visiting only.
These wards are open environments where social distancing between family members, patients and staff, and other mitigations against covid are more difficult to observe.
In all other adult inpatient wards including shared accommodation on every other site, single rooms, mental health, and community and outpatient clinics, people can have support from one visitor at a time.
Women on the maternity pathway can have the support of one birth partner and one additional person throughout all outpatient and scan appointments, labour, birth and in inpatient wards.
The exception to this is in wards where there is an active outbreak of coronavirus. In these wards, visiting will be temporarily restricted to essential visiting only until the situation is resolved.
The following are examples of an ‘essential visit’:
- A person receiving end-of-life care, to enable them to spend meaningful time with those who matter to them in their final days, weeks or months
- To support someone with a mental health issue, or dementia, or a learning disability or autism, where not being present would cause the patient to be distressed
- Carers – those providing essential care or emotional support, or spiritual care
- To accompany a child in hospital
- In general situations when someone is receiving information about life changing illness or treatments
- In these and other similar situations where support from another person is essential for advocacy and wellbeing.
The temporary move will remain under review from infection prevention and control and restrictions will be eased as soon as appropriate.
Jennifer Rodgers, Deputy Nurse Director at NHSGCC, said: “There are currently more than 650 patients with Covid-19 in our hospitals with a diagnosis of 28 days or less. This is having a huge impact on ward and bed closures, patients and staff, and we need to move now to try to limit further spread of the virus amongst people in hospital, who are more vulnerable than the general population.
“Moving some wards to essential visiting only has been a tough but necessary decision. We recognise how difficult this is for our patients and the people that matter most to them and we will keep this under close review so that we can return to person centred visiting as soon as possible.
“If you plan on visiting a relative at one of the hospitals affected but you are unsure of what visiting guidelines apply, please either call the ward or go to our website where you will find more information.
“We also strongly recommend that you have a negative Voluntary Lateral Flow Test a maximum of 24 hours prior to visiting and the closer to your visit, the better. We would also remind all visitors that face masks must be worn unless exempt, and social distancing must continue to be observed where possible.”
Anyone unable to visit can remain in contact through virtual visiting. A Give and Go drop off point inside the main entrance at the GRI and RAH will be available from Thursday and will operate Monday – Friday from noon to 5pm. This will allow people to drop off essential items for patients in impacted wards.
