Following the announcement by the Health Minister on Visiting Guidance for Hospitals, Care Homes and other health facilities, the Western Trust has moved to implement visiting restrictions to all Hospitals and Care Facilities, with limited exceptions until further notice.

These restrictions will see visiting limited to one identified person per patient, who may visit for no longer than one hour, once per week. The visiting weekly rota will apply from Monday until Sunday each week.

The restrictions will apply from 5pm on Friday 25 September 2020 and is applicable to Altnagelvin Area Hospital, South West Acute Hospital and Omagh Hospital and Primary Care complex, as well as other Trust inpatient settings, such as Waterside Hospital, and including our facilities for people with mental health and learning difficulties.

The Trust said the priority is to safeguard and protect people who are receiving care and to protect in particular our frontline staff so that they are able to care for patients and families. They will continue to review these arrangements in line with the prevalence of Covid-19 in the community and as part of an ongoing regional Visiting Guidance review.

At any given time it may also be required to suspend visiting specifically to a ward or area of our hospitals and such updates will be communicated and available on our dedicated COVID-19 Visiting Updates Online page here: bit.ly/WTCOVID19Updates

Some exceptions do apply where visiting will only be permitted under very special circumstances, which include:

  • PAEDIATRICS/NEONATAL: Any babies/children being treated may be accompanied by one parent or carer at a time.
  • MATERNITY: One nominated partner may accompany a woman attending for the following scan appointments: Dating Scan, 19 week Anomaly Scan, and Fetal Medicine Scan. A birthing partner may be present during active labour and up to 1 hour after birth. Visits in antenatal and postnatal wards will be for one person, for up to one hour, once a week.
  • PALLIATIVE (end of life) Care: One visitor to be permitted to visit. Arrangements for visiting those who are receiving end of life or palliative care should be made with the Ward Sister or Charge Nurse.
  • Dementia & Learning Disabilities: Persons with dementia and/or a learning/sensory disability who would benefit from having a loved one at their bedside. Arrangements for such visits should also be made with the Ward Sister or Charge Nurse.

If you are permitted to visit under the restricted or in such special circumstances you MUST wear a face covering at all times, thoroughly wash your hands and use sanitiser when entering and exiting any Western Trust facility, and follow social distancing guidance throughout our health and care settings. Please also ensure that you move swiftly to the single area that you intend to visit, without undertaking any mixing on corridors, and remain mindful of the importance of close adherence to social distancing in any shared space areas, such as a reception, ward entrance and bathroom facilities.

With regard to visiting in care homes, we anticipate there will be a further regional communication on how best to facilitate safe and appropriate visiting to these settings across the Western Trust. We undertake briefings with care home managers and at the next one will work to ensure a common understanding and oversight of the regional guidance once this is available. While virtual visiting continues to be encouraged, along with in person visiting during exceptional circumstances such as at the end of life, we are very mindful of the importance of enabling visiting for people who are living with dementia or a disability that means they are negatively impacted from not seeing a loved one in their care home, and we anticipate that this will be included in the next regional communication.

PLEASE DO NOT visit if you are feeling unwell, especially if you have a high temperature or new persistent cough or have a sudden loss of taste or smell. Anyone who is a close contact of a positive case or has travelled from a country not exempted from the safe travel corridor and have been advised to self-quarantine also MUST not visit. We will be recording and monitoring the names and contact details of all visitors to ensure compliance with this guidance is followed and to enable us to contact a family member should track and trace follow-up be necessary.

Children (up to 16 years) are not permitted to visit until further notice (special circumstances will be dealt with on an individual basis and risk assessed).

Visitors may not be permitted to Wards in certain circumstances and where this applies local guidance and information will be available at Ward level. Patients and relatives will be informed of the reasons for a “No Visiting approach”.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Western Trust has been working to put in place ‘Virtual Visiting’ in all our facilities, where relatives/friends can communicate via a smartphone or tablet. All Trust facilities have access to free Wi-Fi and our staff can help set this up. Please be patient as our staff will have to prioritise clinical work and patient care.

Please remember that all measures being implemented are to protect patients and staff in these challenging times and everyone who visits our facilities should be respectful of all our staff who dedicate themselves to caring for others and saving lives. Please remember there is a zero tolerance policy in place across all Trust facilities, with respect to verbal and physical abuse towards any member of staff.

For updated visiting guidance, including additional information, please read ‘Trust Facilities Visiting Guidance - Supporting Family Presence & Participation with patients and/or residents during COVID 19’. This guide and all future updates can be found on the Western Trust Website COVID-19 Updates page here: bit.ly/WTCOVID19Updates