Relatives wishing to pay a visit to patients in this Scottish health board area will not be allowed from today, after increasing pressure on hospitals due to Covid-19.
From today, visiting across all hospital sites in Forth Valley has been suspended, except for essential visits and other arrangements to support pregnant women and children.
The move, which came into effect today, is designed to help protect patients and staff from coronavirus, according to health officials.
NHS Forth Valley bosses stated ward staff have been contacting relatives and loved ones previously noted as designated visitors where possible, in order to advise them of the changes.
And while necessary to limit the spread and protect patients, visitors and staff, NHS Forth Valley Nurse Director, Professor Angela Wallace, said the move to suspend visiting had been a difficult decision.
She said: “With rising levels of Covid-19 within our local communities we have made this move to help reduce the risk of transmission within our hospitals, protect patients and staff and manage the increasing pressure on our hospitals which are currently very busy.”
“I understand that not being able to visit a loved one while they are in hospital will be upsetting for many people.
"However, I would like to assure people that this decision has not been taken lightly and we hope local patients and families understand the reasons behind this difficult decision and work with us to support these new arrangements.”
She added: “We will also continue to offer virtual visiting for patients using telephones, iPads and laptops to help people keep in touch with their loved ones.”
However, some "essential" visits are still permitted for areas with level three Covid-19 protection measures under the new national visiting guidance, which forms part of the Scottish Government’s Strategic Framework.
These include visits for patients receiving end-of-life care, for patients with a mental health issues (including dementia, learning disabilities and autism), to support a child or baby in hospital, or to accompany pregnant women to scans and antenatal appointments, as well as to provide support during and after labour.
Health bosses say clinical staff's aim is to be as flexible and compassionate as possible to support visiting at this difficult time, as long as it is safe and appropriate to do so.
They also say arrangements for essential visits must be agreed in advance with the relevant ward or department.
Other guidelines include using the alcohol gel provided when entering and leaving hospitals, wards and other clinical areas, wearing a face mask before entering the hospital and other PPE, as required, throughout the duration of any visit.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel