West Suffolk Hospital has clarified the rules of who can visit inpatients. It is said that only one named person is allowed to come to them during their stay.
Bury St. Edmunds Hospital announced that people could have one visitor a day for up to an hour.
It has now been made clear that the visitor must be the same person throughout the patient’s hospital stay and cannot be changed.
This is intended to help minimize the number of people coming to the wards and thus reduce the likelihood of an infection spreading.
There will be slightly different regulations for maternity and children’s areas. Ward staff will continue to have discretion in visiting arrangements for those receiving end-of-life care or who have special mental health needs.
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Starting today, the hospital is also encouraging visitors to do a side-flow Covid test before visiting.
While not mandatory, the staff say it is a great way for visitors to protect their loved ones.
Side flow tests are now available to the public free of charge through a variety of local collection points or by mail.
A map of participating pharmacies can be found on the NHS Test and Trace Site Finder map available here.