HOSPITAL bosses have suspended visiting on wards, amid a countywide spike in Covid cases.

The ‘difficult decision’ to temporarily halt visiting at Wye Valley NHS Trust hospitals, including Ross-on-Wye Community and Hereford County, was announced last Wednesday (November 3) “to help protect patients by reducing the risk of someone bringing Covid onto the wards”.

A spokesperson added: “Due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in the county, Wye Valley NHS Trust has taken the decision to suspend visiting on most of its wards.

“With a few exceptions, the tighter visiting restrictions come into play today, Wednesday, November 3.”

Ross-on-Wye Community Hospital currently has 32 beds on two wards, mainly for patients undergoing rehabilitation.

Herefordshire reported 448 Covid cases per 100,000 people in the week from October 23 to 29, while the average area in England had 432.

“This has been a difficult decision to make as we know the benefits visitors can make to the recovery of our patients, but with the increased spread of the virus in the community and cases on our wards, we’ve decided to temporarily suspend visiting on safety grounds with a few exceptions,” said trust chief nursing officer Lucy Flanagan.

Visitors will be allowed in on compassionate grounds if the patient is receiving end of life care, in receipt of bad news, faces a life-changing illness or injury, or needs specific support and will be benefit from a visit.

Stroke patients will also be allowed to have visitors within 72 hours of admission.

Out-patients can be accompanied if the patient is vulnerable and needs support and is to receive bad news.

There are no changes to visiting restrictions on the county hospital’s children’s ward and special care baby unit and in maternity, where parents or carers can be present at all times and coronavirus testing is in place.

In maternity, one birth partner can attend the delivery suite throughout the stay and the ward once per day – either between 9am and 2pm, or between 3pm and 8pm

The nominated support person will need to undergo twice weekly Covid testing and should not attend if they have Covid symptoms.

“We want to thank all our patients who have been in hospital in recent months and their families and friends who have supported the visiting restrictions we’ve had in place,” added Ms Flanagan.

“We know this hasn’t always been easy but these restrictions have enabled us to ensure patients are being treated in the safest environment possible.

“Covid has not gone away and this tightening of visiting restrictions is an extra step we need to take to help protect patients and staff with the growing number of cases in the community.

“We appreciate the benefits receiving visitors has on our patients and so we have made certain exceptions. The new arrangements will be under constant review and we will reopen and revert back to limited visiting arrangements across our wards as soon as it is safe to do so.”