Christmas visits allowed at Lincolnshire hospitals

Limited patient visiting at Lincolnshire hospitals will be allowed over the Christmas period.

As part of the government’s temporary relaxing of COVID-19 guidelines over Christmas, inpatient visiting will be permitted at both Lincoln County and Pilgrim hospitals.

From Wednesday, December 23 to Sunday, December 27, some patients will be able to have one visitor who may be able to visit more than once, depending on availability of appointments.

This does not include the dedicated COVID-19 wards at the hospital, as the risk of infection still remains too great.

After December 27, patient visiting will be suspended once again, apart from in exceptional circumstances such as giving birth or visiting someone with a mental health condition or learning disability.

Visiting still won’t be possible at Grantham and District Hospital, due to it remaining a COVID-free site to enable cancer treatment to continue.

Appointments will need to be booked in advance and visitors at both Lincoln and Boston hospitals will need to adhere to these Christmas rules:

• You must book an appointment in advance by contacting the ward where a loved one is staying between 8am and 2pm (contact numbers can be found on the ULHT website)
• Only one visitor per bay will be permitted at a time
• Only one relative can visit, there cannot be a different family member on different days
• Only one visit per patient per day
• You must not visit if you are displaying COVID-19 symptoms
• Social distancing must be maintained and hospital provided masks must be worn at all times

Patient visiting was suspended once again at all Lincolnshire hospitals in November, in line with the country going back into national lockdown.

The move out of lockdown into a tiered system didn’t change things for visiting guidelines, but the rules being loosened for Christmas prompted a response from hospital bosses,

Director of nursing for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Dr. Karen Dunderdale, said: “We appreciate that seeing a loved one is very important and so in line with the Government easing restrictions from Wednesday 23 to Sunday 27 December, we have made provisions that will enable some visiting over Christmas, within the hospital setting.

“The guidelines and restrictions are in place to protect our patients, visitors and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and to limit the spread of this virus.

“We must remember that the fact that a patient is in hospital, already puts them in the vulnerable category so any visiting we allow, must be in line with protecting them as a priority.”