February 25, 2022 6.30 pm This story is over 25 months old

Hospital visiting restrictions easing in Northern Lincolnshire

Changes from next week
Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby (left), and Scunthorpe General Hospital (right). | Photo: NLaG

Visiting restrictions at hospitals in Northern Lincolnshire will ease from next week.

The Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust runs hospitals in Scunthorpe and Grimsby in Northern Lincolnshire, as well as in Goole in East Yorkshire.

It is easing visiting restrictions “safely in a phased approach”. From Monday, February 28, one named person per patient will be able to visit twice a day at a pre-arranged time.

Named visitors should contact the ward directly to book their time slots. Visiting for special cases is possible outside the usual visiting times by contacting the ward directly.

This includes patients who:

  • Are ‘end of life’
  • Have learning disabilities or dementia
  • Have a condition that is deteriorating
  • Are experiencing emotional or psychological distress from isolation

For patients on acute assessment units, visits can be arranged 24 hours after admission if the patient remains on the unit. However, this will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

The Trust’s visiting policy and restrictions will continue to be reviewed regularly in line with local statistics and national guidance.

Chief nurse Ellie Monkhouse said: “We appreciate how important it is for patients to be supported by their loved ones whilst in hospital and we hope this will come as good news to many.

“Our priority is the safety of our patients and while we welcome the return of visitors, we must ease our visiting restrictions safely in a phased approach.

“Visitors must continue to wear a face mask (unless exempt) and should take a lateral flow test on the day of their visit before coming to the hospital, to ensure they are not unknowingly spreading coronavirus. Any visitors with symptoms of coronavirus should not attend.”

Patients should continue to attend appointments and the Emergency Department alone unless they need a chaperone for medical reasons.