One-parent children hospital visits 'heartbreaking'

Charlotte Taylor, from Cullingworth, near Bradford said she was the only parent allowed access to her baby daughter Sophia at Leeds General Infirmary

Restricting visits to sick children in hospital to one parent is "heartbreaking" say those campaigning for the policy to be changed.

NHS hospitals in areas of higher coronavirus cases have restrictions in place, with some allowing only one parent to visit a child at any time.

But nearly 85,000 signatures have been garnered on a petition calling for both parents to be allowed visiting rights.

NHS England said restrictions were at the discretion of the hospital trusts.

Anna and William Nham's son needed hospital treatment for serious heart and bowel conditions

Anna Nham, from Sheffield, set up the petition last month after her eight-month-old premature baby son, who has serious heart and bowel conditions, was admitted into a local hospital and then transferred to Leeds for treatment.

She said the visiting policy should be standardised across all hospital wards, as each one at Leeds Children's Hospital had different rules but nearly all meant only the same parent could visit or stay at any time.

Mrs Nham said it had been "torture" for her husband, William, and was "simply heartbreaking".

Mr Nham said: "It felt like the family was being torn apart."

William Nham said his family unit felt like it was "being torn apart"

Charlotte Taylor, 32, who lives near Bradford, said she too was the only parent allowed access to her baby daughter Sophia at Leeds General Infirmary.

The five-month-old, who is diagnosed with DiGeorge Syndrome, needed heart surgery four days after she was born in May and spent a total of 13 weeks in hospital. But her condition means she will have life long medical issues and further hospital treatment, her mother said.

"It's just awful. There are no words to describe how it feels. I was there on my own dealing with it all," she said.

"You're going through a horrific situation anyway and then it's made so much worse by the fact that you've got no-one to support you."

Charlotte Taylor said: "It's not natural to be away from your newborn baby"

She said her husband Russell, 30, eventually held their daughter for the first time nine weeks after she was born.

Leeds General Infirmary said its visiting policy was the "right approach to protect vulnerable babies, families and staff at the beginning of the pandemic", but had since reviewed and amended it to "reflect the changing situation".

It said it had three visiting policies in place including one for neonatal units and another for paediatric intensive care units and that it was "doing everything we can to support families to safely" be with their children.

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