Visiting restrictions have been slightly eased for family and friends who want to visit patients at St George's Hospital.

Restrictions have been in place throughout the pandemic and as vaccinations continue to roll out across the country, the hospital has started to allow greater flexibility.

A spokesperson for St George's said: "We want to keep everyone safe, so some restrictions still apply – however, due to a reduction in transmission rates of Covid-19, and the success of the vaccination programme, we are now in a position to be able to welcome visitors back in a controlled way."

One visitor per patient now permitted

From Monday (7 June), every patient will be allowed to have one visitor for one hour – at a pre-arranged time – between 1pm and 6pm each day. This applies on weekdays and weekends.

Visitors should be a close contact of the patient (e.g. a family member), and ideally someone from the same house-hold or support bubble.

Visits must be booked in advance via ward staff. Every ward has an appointment book to record the visitors' name and contact details.

Appointments can be made by calling the ward clerk on shift between 8am and 4pm, Monday to Friday. All visitors will be asked a series of Covid-19 screening questions when making an appointment.

Adult Intensive Care Units (ICU)

Visitors are allowed on to the intensive care units under specific circumstances.

The following adult ICU patients are permitted visitors:

• Patients receiving end of life care and/or those who are donating organs – daily visits

• Patients who have stayed in ICU longer than seven days – twice weekly visits.

All visits will be limited to one hour only. Visits must be booked in advance via ward staff.

Patients in adult ICU with Covid-19 infection are not permitted visitors. Our teams will continue to support virtual communication between patients with Covid-19 infection and their relatives.

Maternity and foetal scanning

One birth partner is permitted to visit the antenatal ward between 8am and 10pm, every day of the week, including weekends. Two birth partners are permitted to be present during the induction of labour.

Two birth partners are permitted intrapartum (during labour) once the woman is admitted to a single room. In triage, only one birth partner is allowed.

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