Ill boy's dad criticises hospital Covid visiting restrictions

Rachel Nicholson and Connor Gardner cannot both be at Max's bedside at the same time

The father of a seriously ill one-year-old has spoken out against new hospital restrictions preventing both parents being at his bedside at the same time.

Connor Gardner and Rachel Nicholson's son Max is currently undergoing chemotherapy at Newcastle's RVI prior to a bone marrow transplant.

He said visiting rules mean they cannot spend time as a "family unit".

The health trust said the restrictions were necessary to keep patients, families and staff safe.

Max has the rare condition aplastic aneamia and it is hoped a bone marrow transplant, due next week, will save his life.

Prior to the latest lockdown in part prompted by a new variant of Covid-19, both parents could visit Max together for limited periods.

'Don't understand why'

Mr Gardner, from Hebburn, South Tyneside, said: "Up until now we were allowed to spend time in his room as a family for up to an hour a day, but now I'm only allowed in if my partner comes out.

"For there only to be one in there at any time it'll upset him, children know, they always know if something is different.

"The main worry is if something goes wrong and one person can't be there with him, if he takes really ill then are the rules going to be the same?

"I just don't understand why they are dealing with parents of poorly ill children this way."

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement: "We have kept our restrictions to a minimum for as long as possible but following the announcement of a national lockdown and increasing cases of the new variant of Covid-19 we made the very difficult decision to implement stricter restrictions to essential visiting only.

"For our younger patients this means only one parent can be with them at any one time.

"We understand how disappointing this must be but the stricter restrictions are necessary to keep our patients, their families and our staff safe."