Current visiting restrictions at DBTH

As COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease, from Friday 4 June at 0.01am, the following visiting guidance will be in place.

Note: Those wishing to visit will have to book their timeslot ahead of time by calling the relevant service.

• Adult inpatients – Two named visitors can visit for a maximum of two hours. This must be at separate times unless those visiting live within the same household. Please note, this does not apply for those receiving elective surgery.
• Elective surgery and procedures – All visiting must be conducted virtually (via a phone, tablet or laptop), and is only permitted on compassionate grounds. If unsure, call the service you wish to visit.
• End of Life Care – Open visiting available, the number of visitors is limited by social distancing rules so if unsure please call ahead and the team will endeavour to facilitate larger families.
• Long-stay, learning disabilities, complex and those with dementia – A designated regular carer may attend, plus two named visitors can visit for a maximum of two hours. This must be at separate times unless those visiting live within the same household. Please note, this does not apply for those receiving elective surgery.
• Paediatric care – For full guidance, please click here.
• Maternity services – For full guidance, please click here.
• Outpatients – For those attending for an appointment, one individual may accompany, however please note that they may be asked to leave if social distancing becomes a problem. If unsure, please call ahead.
• Emergency Department (A&E) – Children and those with complex needs may be accompanied by one individual, however this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Visitors may be asked to leave if social distancing rules become difficult to achieve.

Before you come to the hospital

If you are granted visitation access due to one of our listed exemptions, please read the following, ensuring you are able to safely come to our hospitals:

• You must not be symptomatic of Covid-19: Please do not visit our hospitals if you are symptomatic of Covid-19, you live in a household with someone who is, or you or your household have been told to isolate.
• Feeling under the weather? If you have a cough, cold, diarrhoea, vomiting or a temperature, you could have an infection and may risk passing this on to our patients. Please do not visit the hospital if you are feeling under the weather and delay your visit.
• Overseas trips: If you have just returned from an overseas trip, please do not come to our hospitals.
• Face covering: We ask that all visitors to the Trust wear an appropriate face covering unless medically exempt.

Entering the hospital:

• To minimise any chance of cross-infection, if you are visiting our hospitals, please come directly from home.
• Please ensure you are wearing a suitable face covering unless medically exempt
• Wash your hands upon entry to our hospitals.
• If coming to a ward, we will take your temperature. If it is higher than normal, unfortunately we may ask you to leave.

Virtual visiting

As a Trust, since the start of the pandemic we have we have introduced ‘Virtual visiting’ using a simple video conference app called Starleaf, which is very similar to Facetime or Skype. It is easy to use, it is secure and it is free.

To start a virtual visit with a friend or loved ones, you just need to have access to a either a smart phone, iPad, tablet or PC (with sound and camera). If you are interested in using this service, please contact the appropriate ward where your relative is and the staff there will try and arrange this for you.

The ward will need your email address and a time to schedule the virtual visit. Alternatively, you can email dbth.butterflyvolunteer@nhs.net, who will support you with this.

Letter writing

If you have elderly friends or family with us who are struggling to use technology to keep in touch, we have an established service to send in letters so you can communicate beyond structured visiting times.

Introduced by our Palliative Care team, relatives and friends can email in a letter for their loved one and it will then be printed out in a hand writing style font and delivered to the patient. In these current times, we are working towards bringing comfort in whatever way we can and this would mean the patient has something they can treasure, re-read and focus on when upset or lonely.

The email address is dbth.butterflyvolunteer@nhs.net. Please note, this is specifically for elderly patients who are struggling to communicate via other means (for instance Facetime and so on).

If you are sending a letter in, you will need to add the patient’s name, ward and the words ‘letters to loved ones’ in the subject box.

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