NHS health board eases Covid restrictions on hospital visits

NHS Lanarkshire has reintroduced visiting across all inpatient wards and units on Sunday.

Patients can now have one visit a day with one visitor at each visit, however, the visitor will be allowed to change from day to day.

Essential visiting will remain in place in ward areas or settings where the environment makes visiting difficult due to coronavirus. In these areas NHS staff will decide when a visit can take place.

Visiting will still be by appointment only and visitors need to contact the ward to arrange a time to visit.

They will also need to have a negative lateral flow test and staff will be asking people to confirm they have undertaken a test before access to wards.

NHS Lanarkshire nurse director Susan Friel said: “We have reviewed our essential visiting restrictions and are now in a position to be able to accommodate one visit a day with one visitor at each visit.

“We know that this will bring some comfort to our patients who may not have been able to see loved ones recently. This will provide those patients in hospital with the vital support they need from family, carers or friends.

“However, while the majority of our patients will be able to have visitors there are some restrictions which we need to maintain in areas where space is confined or we have an outbreak and patient safety is paramount.

“While visitors can now have close contact with their loved one, they are reminded to adhere to physical distancing in communal areas of the hospital, wear face coverings at all times and frequently wash their hands when entering and leaving clinical areas.”

It comes before Easter Monday, when people in Scotland will no longer be legally required to wear a face mask in most indoor public spaces and on public transport.

The Scottish Government said it will still be strongly advised for people to continue to observe the current protection measures.

Those include wearing a face covering indoors in public spaces, and being in well ventilated areas.