Visiting at Paisley's Royal Alexandra Hospital is being restricted from midnight tonight due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.
Hospital bosses have said the "difficult decision" to restrict visiting in certain wards was due to the the "significant rise in the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19".
From midnight tonight (March 16) some areas of the hospital will be essential visiting only, including four and six bedded rooms in inpatient wards and wards in which there is a current outbreak of Covid-19.
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
The new rules impact nightingale wards and shared accommodation which 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.
Those visiting someone in hospital are being asked follow the below vital safety measures still in place:
- We ask in the strongest possible way that you have a negative Lateral Flow Test a maximum of 24 hours before your visit – the closer to your visit, the better.
- All visitors must wear a face-mask within the hospital for the duration of your visit in a hospital building, unless exempt. These are available at all hospital entrances.
- Please maintain a 2 metres distance from others where possible.
- Please wash your hands or use hand hygiene gel.
A spokesperson from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "In response to a significant rise in the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19, we have taken the difficult decision to temporarily move some wards at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) to essential visiting only from midnight tonight, 16 March.
"This is to try to limit further spread of Covid-19 among vulnerable hospital patients, those who matter to them, and staff who are caring for them."
The examples of the type of situations where visits will be seen as essential are included below – these examples are illustrative rather than exhaustive:
- 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 well-being.
Family support will be facilitated in any situation where staff assess that it is important to involve family or carers for ethical, safety, or other reasons.
Further information on essential visiting is available here.
The rule changes will be kept under close review by the Visiting Review Team, with the health board saying normal visiting will resume when it is safe to do so.
Download the FREE Renfrewshire Live app now for all the latest news, features and sport in your area. Available on both Android and Apple. Download here:smarturl.it/RenfrewLiveSocial
