Hospitals ban visitors after norovirus outbreaks

An outbreak of norovirus, the winter vomiting bug, at two hospitals in West Yorkshire has led to restrictions being imposed on visitors to the sites.

Visitors have been banned from Dewsbury and District Hospital and parts of Pinderfields Hospital "with immediate effect", with people also urged not to go to A&E unless it is an emergency.

However, people visiting patients receiving end of life care would still be allowed in to both hospitals, Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust confirmed.

Meanwhile, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust urged people to "think carefully" before attending Bradford Royal Infirmary's A&E as services and wards were under "significant pressure".

A Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust spokesperson said "full visiting restrictions" had been imposed at Dewsbury and District Hospital and at Gate 45a at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield in a bid "to help keep our patients, visitors and staff safe, and to help control the spread of norovirus".

They thanked the public for "helping us to keep our patients and staff safe".

Dr Ray Smith, chief medical officer for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Bradford Royal Infirmary, St Luke’s Hospital and the district’s community hospitals, said his trust was "asking everyone to think carefully" before attending A&E.

Members of the public could "really help" by deciding whether A&E was "the best place for them to go to get the right care, as soon as possible" before going there for treatment.

Dr Smith said the department was "for accidents and emergencies only, such as severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, significant head injuries and broken bones".

He advised that people who were not seriously ill could instead call the NHS 111 service, consult their GP or visit their community pharmacist as it could mean "waiting less time to receive care".

Last week, a meeting of Kirklees Council’s Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel heard that Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital were on the highest level of alert, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Norovirus and respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV - another highly contagious condition - were marked as key pressures across Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust sites, the meeting was told.

All beds were currently full across the two hospitals and some wards had been closed, with A&E attendance also up this year, councillors heard.

The NHS website states that anyone with symptoms of norovirus should stay off school or work until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least two days.

People should also avoid visiting hospitals or care homes during this time, it said.

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