Patient visiting limited due to numbers with flu

The Conquest Hospital in St Leonards and Eastbourne District General Hospital are among those subject to restrictions

Visiting in hospitals run by an East Sussex health trust is to be temporarily restricted due to the "very high" number of patients currently grappling with flu.

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards and the Eastbourne District General Hospital among others, said patients would be limited to one visitor per day for most services.

The measure, which has been enforced to reduce the impact of the virus, also applies to those accompanying people in A&E.

Exemptions apply to end-of-life care, its special care baby unit and when visiting children under 16.

Additional visitors will be permitted on compassionate grounds on a "case-by-case basis" for all other services, it said.

The trust said: "While flu is a common infection in winter and will often get better on its own, it can make some people seriously ill, particularly those who are vulnerable and those receiving hospital care.

"To reduce the impact, including the risks of spreading the virus to our patients and staff... we have made the decision to make some restrictions to patient visiting."

Bexhill Hospital, Bexhill Community Diagnostic Centre, plus Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital and Uckfield Community Hospital are also run by the trust.

On Monday, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust advised staff and visitors with respiratory issues to wear masks in clinical areas, also to halt the spread of flu.

National data showed more than 5,000 people were being treated for flu in hospitals across England in the last week of 2024.

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