Changes to visiting our hospitals

27 January 2025 - Updated temporary arrangements due to high rates of flu and respiratory illnesses

On 6 January we introduced temporary arrangements for hospital visiting due to high rates of flu and respiratory illnesses in the community.

These viruses continue to have an impact on our services, however as cases have begun to decrease, we have now returned to our standard arrangements for the number of inpatient visitors. This applies from today (27 January 2025), across all of our hospital sites.

If you have flu-like symptoms or are experiencing diarrhoea or vomiting, please do not visit our hospitals. Contact NHS 111 or visit your local pharmacy. Only attend the Emergency Department in an emergency.

Masks must be worn in our Emergency Departments and in any other areas where signage indicates, unless the patient or visitor:

• is a young child under the age of 2
• has breathing or developmental difficulties
• experiences genuine discomfort or distress while wearing a face mask
• is unable to remove their mask without assistance.

Thank you for your patience and support. We are keeping our arrangements for visitors under regular review.

Helping us manage demand

If you need medical advice but it’s not an emergency, please consider using a different service to get the care you need.

You could:

• call NHS 111 or visit the NHS 111 website
• make an appointment with your GP
• go to a local pharmacist

In our Emergency Departments, we will assess you as quickly as we are able to. If we feel you need to stay, we will aim to treat you as soon as possible, based on the urgency of your clinical need.

If we feel you could be seen elsewhere, we will ask you to do so and advise you on the most appropriate place to go. If you then decide to stay, please be aware that you could be waiting a long time to be seen.

Please treat all staff with respect during this busy time. Thank you for your support, and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.