Ward visiting times and contacts

Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic we need to restrict visiting to our hospital inpatients.

We know that it’s important for our patients to see family and friends. We are reluctantly taking these steps to help prevent the spread of infection and ask that the public consider other ways of contacting loved ones such as using personal mobile phones or digital devices for video calls. You can also use our free Keeping In Touch service to speak to patients at West Suffolk Hospital who do not have their own devices.

These arrangements apply at West Suffolk Hospital, Newmarket Community Hospital, and Glastonbury Court.

Due to a reduction in Covid-19 cases locally, we are pleased to be able to reintroduce limited visiting for our inpatients. To minimise the risk to our patients, we still need to have some additional rules and these are set out below. We may also need to make changes at short notice if the situation changes.

• No visits to patients in Covid-positive areas: this may include where we have suspected Covid-19 cases or to isolate those who may have been in contact with a Covid-positive patient. We understand the importance of visiting, and where we can do safely we will try our best to enable visiting for child inpatients; patients receiving end-of-life care; and patients that need extra support for mental health reasons.
• Most inpatient areas: One named visitor per patient per day for up to an hour. This should be the same person for the whole duration of the inpatient stay; this is to minimise the number of people entering our wards and so reduce potential for infection. You should contact the ward to arrange this in advance; we may need to stagger visits to allow for maximum social distancing. You will need to give us your contact details to support Test and Trace. Where patients have a learning disability, dementia, or other mental health needs we will do our best to enable additional visiting.
• Maternity: one partner can come with you for maternity scans and appointments, and stay with you during labour or a planned caesarean section.
• Child inpatients: parents of babies in the neonatal unit can book daily morning or afternoon visits. There is unlimited visiting time for up to two parents of child inpatients on F1; unfortunately siblings cannot visit.

In the event that a named visitor or anyone living with them develops symptoms of Covid-19, they must not visit the hospital. Instead, they should follow the national guidance on self-isolation and testing. Children are not currently allowed to visit.

Thank you for your co-operation and support in respecting these rules and helping us limit the spread of Covid-19.

Information for people visiting under the above arrangements

We strongly encourage all visitors to take a Covid-19 lateral flow test before each visit. These are available free from the NHS and can be picked up from local collection centres or delivered by post. You can find full details of how to get kits here: https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

All visitors are required to wear face coverings - surgical masks are provided at our hospital entrances. Please use the hand sanitiser provided on arrival and before entering the ward. You must continue to do this even if you have a negative lateral flow test or have received the Covid-19 vaccination. While both of these are extremely helpful in tackling the virus, lateral flow tests may not detect lower levels of infection and we do not yet know how vaccination affects the spread of the disease. 

You must not visit the hospital if:

• have a positive lateral flow test result
• you have symptoms of coronavirus, or have been asked to isolate due to exposure to someone else who has them
• you are feeling unwell in any way
• you have previously been sent guidance to ‘shield’ or are within a ‘high risk group’, or
• you are under the age of 16.

Please be aware that you will normally have to pay to park at West Suffolk Hospital, unless you are a Blue Badge holder or a similar concession applies.

Disabled visitors using Car Park A should visit the car park office to validate their free parking. Disabled visitors using Car Park D should speak to the car park team via the intercom and follow instructions.

Clinical helpline

If you would like an update on your loved one, we run a dedicated clinical helpline who can help. Just phone 01284 713155 and select option 1. The helpline is available seven days a week 10am-6pm (closed for lunch 1pm-2pm).

Ward information

For detailed visitor information regarding our maternity services please click here.