A Welsh hospital has reintroduced Covid measures including the wearing of face masks and a stop on ward visits with immediate effect. The changes are being made at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest.
The hospital is one of four major and acute hospitals run by Hywel Dda University Health Board, along with Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli and Bronlglais Hospital in Aberystwyth. You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.
The health board said it has brought in safety measures at Withybush Hospital following a “formal review of Covid-19 activity” which identified an “increasing prevalence of Covid-19” at the site. The move means that all staff and visitors to the hospital will have to wear masks, unless they are exempt from doing so.
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Visiting will also be stopped from Tuesday (July 5), except for end-of-life visits and any considered necessary in agreement with the sister or nurse in charge of the ward. People attending outpatient appointments must do so alone unless they need the assistance of a carer or relative, but a designated partner can attend antenatal appointments or scans and when a mother is admitted in labour. Furthermore, all inpatients attending Withybush Hospital will be tested for Covid-19 on admission.
“We have made the decision to reinforce these measures at Withybush Hospital to reduce the risk to our patients and staff and thank people for their support and co-operation at this time,” said Mandy Rayani, director of nursing, quality and patient experience at Hywel Dda University Health Board.
“While the situation at Withybush Hospital and across our other hospital sites will be reviewed and updated frequently, we can all continue to take protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19 to protect vulnerable people and the NHS.
“We strongly advise anyone in our locality who has the classic symptoms, or who suspects they may have Covid-19 to isolate and take an LFD test. If positive, we urge people to isolate - this will help you to rest and recover while protecting others from risk of transmission.”
The health board has reminded people that if they have Covid-19 symptoms, they can still book an LFD test in Wales for free, until July 31, by visiting the government website and searching ‘order rapid lateral flow kit’. Anyone not online can telephone 119 between the hours of 7am and 11pm (people with hearing or speech difficulties can call 18001 119). Public health advice is to continue to isolate if you receive a positive result, either for 10 days, or until you have two consecutive negative LFD results from days five and six.
Wales has seen a recent sharp rise in Covid infection rates due to new Omicron variants. The latest update from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that one in 30 people in Wales, around 3.35% of the population, had the virus during the week ending June 24.
Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: “Across the UK we’ve seen a continued increase of over half a million infections, likely caused by the growth of BA.4 and BA.5 variants. We will continue to monitor the data closely to see if this growth continues in the coming weeks.”
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