Essex and Suffolk hospitals suspend visiting due to Covid

Colchester General Hospital in Essex is one of the hospitals affected by the suspension

An NHS hospitals trust has suspended most visiting because of rising Covid cases in the community and increasing numbers of patients with the virus.

East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Ipswich and Colchester hospitals, said staffing had also been hit by Covid infections.

The suspension of visiting will come into effect from Wednesday.

The Infection Prevention and Control team will have a "close and regular" review of the situation, ESNEFT said.

Nick Hulme, chief executive at the trust, said banning visitors was "never a decision we take lightly".

The new suspension will not apply to end-of-life care and people in formal caring roles, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Other exceptions to the suspension also included allowing one parent or carer to visit a child in hospital, including staying overnight, and one birthing partner being allowed for the delivery of a baby.

Other smaller hospitals run by the trust that are affected are Clacton Hospital, the Fryatt Hospital in Harwich, Aldeburgh Hospital, Felixstowe Hospital and Ipswich's Bluebird Lodge.

The trust's chief nurse and director of infection prevention and control, Giles Thorpe, said it was "committed" to reinstating some ward visiting "as quickly and as safely as possible".

Mr Hulme said: "Making this decision so soon after we opened visiting further is disappointing for us all, but it goes to show how fast the virus is spreading again and that Covid-19 has not gone away.

"It's still very real for everyone working in our hospitals."

A process was being set up to help keep relatives and loved ones in contact with patients on the wards, ESNEFT said, but it asked if families and carers could nominate one person to be in contact with ward teams during the suspension.

The Trust's Letters to Loved Ones service is a way for relatives to keep in touch with patients.

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