Hospitals still using old Covid rules to stop family seeing patients

More than two-thirds of hospitals STILL use outdated Covid restrictions to stop patients from seeing loved ones

• Over two thirds of NHS Trusts still using outdated Covid restrictions for visitors
• The NHS told hospitals last March they should open up to friends and families
• But many have been slow on the uptake, despite a drop in Covid cases this week 

Hospital patients are being denied cherished visits from their loved ones by NHS institutions using outdated Covid restrictions, it has been revealed.

Data shows 70 per cent of trusts are still enforcing rules dating back to the Covid lockdowns, despite NHS hospitals being told to open up last March.

Most premises are still restricting visitors to just two at a time, with some reunions cut to just one hour, The Telegraph reports.

A recent report by the Care Quality Commission revealed over half of pregnant women were denied the support of their partner while giving birth last year, despite the end of Covid restrictions.

Data shows 70 per cent of trusts are still enforcing rules dating back to the Covid lockdowns, despite NHS hospitals being told to open up last March

The restrictions are being enforced across inpatient wards, as well as accident and emergency departments, outpatient clinics and maternity wards.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has held back on imposing any new guidance on visiting rules, despite pressure from campaigners to end ‘lockdown era policies’. A source close to Mr Barclay claims he wants to allow frontline NHS workers to make their own decisions on visiting rules in their hospitals. 

Labour Shadow Health Secretary West Streeting said it was ‘not good enough for Steve Barclay to stand idly by’.

After a resurgence towards the end of last year, Covid is once again on the wane – with latest figures showing infections down by a third in the week leading to January 20.

During the darkest days of the pandemic, visits from family and friends were banned altogether to reduce the spread of the virus – leading many people to say their final farewells to their loved ones through agonising phonecalls.

After it was revealed that more than a quarter of trusts still suspended visits in March last year, the NHS ordered hospitals to open up once again.

Most hospitals are still restricting visitors to just two at a time, with some reunions cut to just one hour long

Chief nursing officer Ruth May reiterated the message a month later, telling trusts no patient should have to attend a hospital appointment alone.

But of 125 acute hospital trusts examined by The Telegraph this week, 88 still imposed curbs on visitors.

The most common restriction was capping visits to one hour, as well as limiting the family members who could visit mothers and newborns. 

At Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SaSH), maternity wards allow just one visitor at a bedside at any time – meaning relatives must take it in turns.

SaSH stated on Friday night it is updating some of its visitor rules, reverting to ‘pre-pandemic visiting rules’ as of today.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘We urge all trusts to follow the national guidance and ensure they are facilitating visits.’

A NHS spokesman added: ‘No one is alone in their care or treatment unless it is their choice.

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