Skip to main content

Infection prevention and control

You can view our latest visiting restrictions, which are in place due to COVID-19, here.

Working together - How visitors can help

Hand hygiene

Person using hand gelWe kindly ask that all visitors to the hospital use the sinks situated at the main entrance to a wash and dry their hands as they enter and also leave the hospital. In addition, hand gel is available outside clinical areas, bays and single rooms. Please use the hand rub to cleanse your hands before entering and leaving the ward to visit a relative/friend.

If the dispenser is empty please let us know, so we can make sure it is promptly refilled.

Hospital staff are taught a technique to cleanse their hands to ensure they don't miss any areas of the hands accidentally. We are happy to show you how to do this on request.

Hand gel is useful for cleansing hands which are not visibly dirty but is not recommended for use after visiting someone who has diarrhoea and/or vomiting. Hand washing is the recommended technique.
Visiting your relatives/friends

We know how important visiting times are, but if you are unwell or you have been in contact with someone who has been unwell please postpone your visit until fully recovered and symptom free. Please also inform the Ward Manager. Illnesses like Norovirus (diarrhoea and/or vomiting) spread extremely quickly, and can often be accidentally bought in to the hospital from the community by children and adults who visit when unwell. We also need to protect our patients from influenza (flu) and would ask that if you or other family members or friends have colds/flu like illnesses, then visits are postponed until you are fully recovered and symptom free.

During visiting it is important you don’t sit on your relative’s bed, and visitor numbers are kept to a minimum at any one time.

Picture explaining not to visit if suffering from coughs, colds, sickness or diarrhoea

Please never touch your relative’s dressings, cannulas, or any of the clinical equipment around the bed.

If you are concerned about levels of cleanliness, please report to the Ward Manager to action immediately.

If you are concerned that a member of staff is not bare-below-the elbow, or you haven’t witnessed appropriate hand hygiene, please remind the staff member and/or report to the Ward Manager.

Visiting your relatives/friends

We know how important visiting times are, but if you are unwell or you have been in contact with someone who has been unwell please postpone your visit until fully recovered and symptom free. Please also inform the Ward Manager. Illnesses like Norovirus (diarrhoea and/or vomiting) spread extremely quickly, and can often be accidentally bought in to the hospital from the community by children and adults who visit when unwell. We also need to protect our patients from influenza (flu) and would ask that if you or other family members or friends have colds/flu like illnesses, then visits are postponed until you are fully recovered and symptom free.

During visiting it is important you don’t sit on your relative’s bed, and visitor numbers are kept to a minimum at any one time.

Please never touch your relative’s dressings, cannulas, or any of the clinical equipment around the bed.

If you are concerned about levels of cleanliness, please report to the Ward Manager to action immediately.

If you are concerned that a member of staff is not bare-below-the elbow, or you haven’t witnessed appropriate hand hygiene, please remind the staff member and/or report to the Ward Manager.

Visiting patients who are in single rooms or bays with notices advising special precautions.

If you are visiting a person in a single room or a bay with signs/posters advising special precautions, please ask the Ward Manager or a member of staff for advice on precautions before you go in. If you are still unsure or need further advice, ask to speak to a member of the Infection Prevention and Control Team.

Food

Please do not bring food in for patients (or for yourself to consume on the ward during visitng) without checking first with the Ward Manager.

Children

Please check with the Ward Manager before bringing children under the age of 12 or babies in to visit. There may be visiting restrictions in place in some clinical areas to protect our patients and your family.

Nurse with patient

Further information

The clinical teams in each ward/department are available to provide information and guidance for any questions you may have. If you have any additional queries about infection prevention and control measures, you can ask for a member of the team who will happily visit you to discuss these further.