An NHS Trust in Surrey has declared a critical incident in a hospital as its Norovirus outbreak enters its second week.
Visits have been temporarily restricted on all wards at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill as the Surrey & Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH). This mornign (March 30), the trust said the hospital is currently experiencing “continued high levels” of Norovirus alongside “significant levels of sustained demand” on its emergency care services.
There are temporary visiting restrictions in place to all of the trust’s wards at the 744-bed hospital “until further notice”, with exceptions for patients on end of life care, in maternity, and paediatric wards and in the Emergency Department (ED).
Several wards were also closed last week as the outbreak led SASH to ask the public not to attend the hospital if they have had diarrhoea or vomited in the last 48 hours.
In line with this, the SASH has asked the public to only attend the ED for serious or life-threatening conditions or medical emergencies. Additionally, it has said staff may need to reschedule some non-urgent appointments to accommodate those patients with the most urgent clinical need.
Speaking to Surrey Live, Dr Ed Cetti, chief medical officer for Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “In response to the continued high levels of Norovirus across our hospital, sustained demand in our Emergency Department, and the challenges we are facing moving patients around the site in line with necessary infection control measures, the Trust has declared a Critical Incident.
“Temporary visiting restrictions to all our wards at East Surrey Hospital therefore remain in place until further notice, with the exception of patients on end of life care, in our maternity and paediatric wards, and in ED.
This will help to reduce the risk of further spread and support patient safety. In line with our strengthened infection prevention measures, we continue to ask members of the public not to come to the hospital if they have had diarrhoea or vomiting in the last 48 hours.
“We know how important visiting is and we are keeping these measures under close review and will lift them as soon as we are able to. More information on visiting and local urgent care options is available on our website.”
The trust has said anyone coming to East Surrey Hospital must follow additional infection control measures to help reduce the spread of Norovirus. This includes practicing good hand-hygiene, reducing their movement around the site, and wearing masks affected in clinical areas.
The trust has issued the following advice to prevent Norovirus from spreading: