Visitor Information

Why visiting is managed rather than open

In our culture, visiting a sick relative is an obligation, and a patient surrounded by family recovers better than one left alone. We do not want to change that. What we do have to manage is the number of people in a clinical area at one time.

A ward with twenty visitors standing between the beds is a ward where a nurse cannot reach a deteriorating patient quickly, where an emergency trolley cannot be pushed through, where infection moves easily from one bed to the next, and where nobody is sleeping. Every rule on this page exists because of one of those four consequences.

Visiting arrangements are periodically revised — during an outbreak of respiratory illness they are tightened, and they differ between the general ward, private rooms and intensive care. Always confirm the current arrangement at the ward nursing station or the reception desk rather than relying on what applied at your last visit.

General visiting guidance

• Visiting is permitted during defined visiting periods, typically in the late morning and the evening — confirm the current timings at the reception or the ward nursing station
• Two visitors at a bedside at one time is the general expectation in wards and rooms; if more relatives have travelled, take turns rather than gathering
• Visiting is suspended during doctors' rounds, nursing procedures, dressing changes and meal times, and staff may ask you to step out at short notice
• One nominated attendant may stay overnight with a ward or room patient, and must carry the attendant pass issued at admission
• Keep voices low, especially at night — the patient in the next bed may have been operated on that morning
• Do not sit on a patient's bed, adjust an intravenous line or drip rate, or move any equipment, monitor or oxygen setting
• During a seasonal outbreak of respiratory illness, visiting may be restricted at short notice; this is a safety measure and applies to everyone

Intensive care: why the rules are stricter

Intensive care visiting is short, restricted to one or two relatives at a time, and permitted only during a defined window. Families often experience this as coldness. It is the opposite.

Patients in intensive care are frequently ventilated, sedated, immunosuppressed or recovering from major surgery. Their skin is broken by central lines and catheters, which are direct routes for bacteria into the bloodstream. An organism carried in on a shirt or a phone that would do nothing to a healthy adult can cause a fatal infection in that setting. Alarms also need to be heard and acted on within seconds, which is impossible in a crowded unit.

What we owe you in exchange for the restriction is information. A member of the treating team gives the nominated attendant an update at a defined time each day, and the intensivist or the primary consultant speaks to the family when there is a significant change or a decision to be taken. If you have not received an update, ask at the intensive care reception rather than waiting silently outside the door.

Rules that apply inside intensive care

• Enter only during the permitted visiting window and only in the numbers the unit allows
• Wear the gown, mask, cap and shoe covers provided, and remove them when you leave
• Clean your hands with the alcohol rub before entering and again on leaving — this matters more than anything else you will do
• Do not carry food, flowers, plants or cloth items into the unit
• Do not touch drips, tubes, catheters, monitors or ventilator controls, and do not silence an alarm
• Do not photograph or film inside the unit; other patients have a right to privacy
• Do not visit at all if you have fever, cough, cold, sore throat, loose motions or an open skin infection

Infection control for visitors

You cannot see the organisms you carry. These simple habits protect the patient you came for, and every other patient on the floor.

• Clean your hands with the alcohol rub at the ward entrance, before touching the patient, and again when you leave
• Stay away entirely if you have a fever, cough, cold, sore throat, vomiting, loose motions or a skin infection
• Wear a mask if you have any respiratory symptom at all and cannot avoid coming
• Do not use the patient's washroom; use the visitor facilities
• Do not move between two patients, or between wards, without cleaning your hands in between
• Follow isolation signage on a door without exception, and ask the nurse before entering an isolation room
• Do not bring an unwell child into a clinical area, however briefly

What not to bring to the ward

• Flowers, plants and soil-based items — they harbour fungal spores and are not permitted in wards or intensive care
• Home-cooked food, outside food or drink for the patient, unless the treating team has specifically permitted it in writing
• Large quantities of cash, jewellery or valuables — the hospital cannot take responsibility for belongings kept at the bedside
• Electrical appliances such as heaters, kettles or extension boards, which are a fire and electrical safety risk
• Blankets, pillows, mats and bedding from home into intensive care or isolation areas
• Alcohol, tobacco, gutka, pan masala or any intoxicant — the entire campus is a no-smoking, no-tobacco area
• Pets or animals of any kind