Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Visiting Guidance
This information is correct as of 5 November 2020
In response to the rise in coronavirus cases in our area and to
maintain the safety of patients and staff, we are restricting
visiting to our hospitals from 0.01am on Thursday 5
November 2020.
Exceptions can be made under compassionate grounds or if the
patient has specific needs that require the support of a
carer.
This change affects visiting across our hospitals, please see
below for further details depending on the area or service.
Adult inpatients
Visiting will be suspended for adult
inpatients from 0.01am on Thursday 5 November
2020.
Exceptions can be made under compassionate grounds or if the
patient has specific needs that require the support of a carer,
including vulnerable patients with dementia or learning
disabilities, patients with a key carer, and patients receiving
end-of-life care:
- Visits on compassionate grounds or for carers must be
pre-arranged by contacting the ward and speaking to the nurse in
charge.
- Please strictly follow hand hygiene and social distancing
guidance, regularly washing your hands and using hand sanitising
gel. You must wear a face mask or face covering at all times,
unless you are exempt for medical reasons.
- You must not visit under any circumstances if you have a new
continuous cough, high temperature or have an unexplained
loss/change in your normal sense of smell or taste. For more
information and guidance on coronavirus, please visit www.nhs.uk/coronavirus
We know it is important for our patients to keep in contact with
family and friends. We will support them where possible to make use
of any telephone or video calls.
Thank you for helping us keep our patients, staff and community
safe.
Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
Visitors to our children's wards are restricted
to one immediate family member or carer on the ward at
any one time. A maximum of two family members or carers
can be named as visitors, but only one will be allowed on the ward
at any one time. Handover between parents or carers must take place
outside of the hospital. Please speak to the nurse in charge if you
have any questions about wearing face coverings or if your child
has specific needs that need to be taken into consideration, such
as a child who has a disability and needs the support of a
carer.
We ask that siblings do not visit our children's
wards.
Maternity services
UPDATED 11.01.21 If you are having your
baby at St Michael's Hospital or Ashcombe Birth Centre,
please view the current guidance for maternity
services.
Attending our emergency departments
Bristol Royal Infirmary and Weston General Hospital emergency
departments
Those coming to our emergency departments at the Bristol Royal
Infirmary and Weston General Hospital are asked to attend alone,
with a very small number of exceptions at the discretion of the
nurse in charge or a consultant. People who are there to support a
patient are not counted as a visitor, such as those
accompanying:
- 16/17 year old patients (or any patient under the age of 18
attending Weston General Hospital emergency department)
- vulnerable patients (a vulnerable patient is someone who
is or may be for any reason unable to take care of themselves, or
is unable to protect themselves against significant harm or
exploitation)
- patients receiving end-of-life care
- patients who have dementia, a learning disability, autism
spectrum disorder (ASD) or a diagnosed mental health condition,
where not having someone else present would cause the patient to be
distressed
- patients with a disability or impairment who cannot attend on
their own or require additional support to access services.
Where a visitor has been permitted, it will be limited to one
person to accompany the patient, and they must have no COVID-19
symptoms. If you are in any doubt or need to make additional
arrangements to support your particular needs please speak to a
member of staff.
Bristol Royal Hospital for Children emergency department
Those coming into our children's emergency department can
be accompanied by a maximum of one family member,
friend or carer. Those accompanying a child into the department
must have no COVID-19 symptoms. Please speak to the nurse in charge
if you have any questions about wearing face coverings or if your
child has specific needs that need to be taken into consideration,
such as a child who has a disability and needs the support of a
carer.
Outpatient appointments
What to do if you have a hospital appointment at any of our
hospitals:
Please continue to attend your hospital appointments unless you
are advised otherwise. You don't need to call to check that a
booked appointment is going ahead. We will be in touch if anything
changes with your care.
However, please be aware of the following information ahead of
your appointment:
- Please come to your appointment alone unless you need a carer
or require emotional support
- Please arrive no earlier than 15 minutes before your
appointment.
- Less seating capacity means you may be asked to wait outside or
in your car;
- Please leave the building promptly after your appointment.
What support is available while I'm waiting for planned
hospital care?
Please view the BNSSG website for advice and support if
you are waiting for a routine (planned) operation or procedure.
Diabetes services during the coronavirus outbreak
The Sirona care & Health website has details of
services for people with diabetes, including how to contact the
diabetes community services for advice and guidance. The site also
contains resources with advice and guidance for
dealing with diabetes during the coronavirus outbreak.
Diabetes UK are also urging parents not to let coronavirus fears
stop them from seeking medical help if they're worried their child
is showing the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes.
Read their news story to find out more.
Share a message with your loved one in hospital
We know it is important for our patients to keep in contact with
family and friends and we will support them where possible to make
use of any telephone or video calls so they can keep in contact
with their loved ones.
But it is also important that we look at other ways we can help
people keep in touch and this new Message to My Loved One service
gives people a chance to try something a bit different to the
normal routine methods of communication at a distance.
The new Message to My Loved One service is being run by UHBW's
patient experience team with the support of Trust Voluntary
Services and allows people to send in messages via email or a
dedicated phone line, which will then be printed and delivered to
patients.
Messages received by 11am each day, Monday to Friday, will be
delivered that day to inpatients in our hospitals.
The Trust is also offering the chance for people to drop off
small gifts, letters or essential personal items from 10.30am to
12.30pm, Monday to Friday, which members of the team can pass
on. We aim to deliver the items to the wards as soon as
possible from them being delivered, but it may be not be the same
day.
If you would like to send a message to a loved one in hospital
please email messagetomylovedone@uhbw.nhs.uk or
call 0117 342 1561 for Bristol hospital sites or 01934 881394 for
Weston General Hospital.
If you would like to drop off a small gift, letter or essential
personal items for a loved one in hospitals, please follow the
following guidance:
- Small, essential items only
- No food, drink, flowers or valuables
- Please place items in a sealed bag clearly labelled with the
patient's name and ward. If the ward is not known then please
include date of birth or home address.
- We aim to deliver items to the wards as soon as possible from
them being delivered, but it may be not be the same day.
Items can be dropped off from 10.30am to 12.30pm Monday to
Friday at the Patient Possessions Drop-Off point in the main
entrance of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and to the main reception
desks at Weston General Hospital and South Bristol Community
Hospital.
Share your experiences of our services during Covid-19
We want to hear your experiences of our services during
Covid-19. We hope your experience has continued to be a positive
one, but if you have ideas about how we could do things better,
please let us know by completing this short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VWQW25M
Thank you for helping us keep our patients, staff and community
safe.
Thank you for
helping us keep our patients, staff and community
safe.