Hospital 'urgently' restricts visiting after Covid-19 admissions rise

Only “essential” visiting will be allowed after a hospital in Renfrewshire saw a surge in coronavirus admissions amid rising cases in the community.

The Royal Alexandria Hospital, in Paisley, will revert to the restricted measures from 8pm on Wednesday across all acute wards for the next three weeks.

Exceptions are in place for maternity gynaecology and mental health.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the arrangements would be applied “flexibly and compassionately” and each patient’s needs would be considered on their own merits.

URGENT: Due to COVID-19 and the number of community cases, the RAH will revert to essential visits only from 8pm on 13/10/21. This will be in operation within all acute wards, with the exception of maternity and mental health, for 3 weeks. More: https://t.co/XgMmD09b0M
— NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (@NHSGGC) October 13, 2021

Carers, those providing essential care or emotional support, or spiritual care are not considered to be visitors and will continue to be permitted to attend a patient in hospital.

The move follows a meeting of the health board’s Incident Management Team.

A statement read: “The Royal Alexandria Hospital (RAH) has, in recent weeks, experienced an increase in Covid-19 hospital admissions due to the heightened community prevalence in Renfrewshire.

“Due to the particular challenges within wards with open accommodation, the separation of patients and their visitors is more difficult.

“Likewise, observing social distancing and other mitigations against COVID are more challenging.”