Bug Closes Wards At Southampton General

There are two wards at Southampton General Hospital currently closed to new admissions due to outbreaks of diarrhoea and vomiting.

The winter sickness and vomiting virus is here again. As it is highly infectious, to protect our patients, members of the public 
intending to visit Southampton General, the Princess Anne Hospital or Countess Mountbatten House are asked to help with this by observing the following restrictions:
 
•             Avoid visiting until you have been free from symptoms for at least 48 hours if you have suffered sickness or diarrhoea, or have felt unwell, in the last 72 hours
 
•             Wash hands carefully both before and after visiting a clinical ward area and use the alcohol gels available
 
•             Do not sit on the bed of the person you are visiting and ask a member of staff if you need more chairs
 
•             Avoid bringing food in as a gift – if this is essential, ensure it is covered or wrapped and please hand in to the nurse on the ward
 
•             Avoid bringing in flowers and plants, which can cause clutter and prevent effective cleaning
 
•             Please adhere to visiting hours, as this will allow time for essential cleaning to occur.
 
If people need to visit patients in an affected area, we ask all relatives and friends to limit the number of visitors to this area until the outbreak is over and only visit if absolutely essential. Those who are frail or generally vulnerable to infection are advised not to visit at all, as are school-age children who could acquire an infection and introduce it into their school.
 
Judy Gillow, director of nursing, said: “With rising cases of seasonal sickness bugs in the community and two wards currently closed to new admissions, we ask that members of the public help us to limit the spread of viruses within hospital by following the advice we have set out.
 
“The winter months are always an extremely pressuring time for our staff, who deal with a large increase in admissions and attendances at the emergency department – particularly among the older population . We really appreciate the public helping us so we can protect those who are most vulnerable.”