East Suffolk and North Essex hospitals to suspend majority of patient visits from tomorrow
Exemptions are being made for parents, carers and those with loved ones receiving end of life care
From tomorrow the majority of patient visits to hospitals in East Suffolk and North Essex will temporarily be suspended.
With Covid cases rising, along with hospital admissions in Colchester, Clacton, Ipswich and Felixstowe.
But exemptions are being made for parents, carers and those with loved ones receiving end of life care. While phone calls and letters to patients will still be delivered.
This measure will affect Colchester Hospital, Clacton Hospital and Fryatt Hospital, Harwich, Ipswich Hospital, Aldeburgh Hospital, Felixstowe Hospital and Bluebird Lodge in Ipswich.
Giles Thorpe is chief nurse at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Ipswich and Colchester hospitals, along community services in East Suffolk and North East Essex.
He said: “Once again, this has been a very tough decision to make. We understand how important visiting is to our patients and their families and friends, but we must do everything we can to keep everyone safe in our hospitals.
“We have been keeping a close eye on community COVID-19 infection rates and the number of people in our hospitals with the virus and this is action we really need to take now.
“One of the ways we can keep our staff and patients safe is to reduce the footfall on our sites, but we will keep the policy under review so we can reintroduce visiting again as quickly and as safely as we can.”
The Trust says pre-booked visiting slots will remain in place for the remainder of today and that the decision is being "kept under regular view in line with hospital admissions and community COVID-19 infection rates".