Vomiting & Diarrhoea virus prompts hospital advice

According to the Northern Health and Social Care Trust this has been caused by a virus which is currently circulating the province and a restriction on visiting in affected areas has been put in place.

The Trust says it regularly monitors the cleanliness of wards, patient equipment, antibiotic prescribing, hand hygiene compliance and initiates an ongoing programme of intensive cleans in wards as part of its strategy to ensure a low level of healthcare associated infections. These measures also help to reduce outbreaks of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by viruses.

A spokesperson said: “The Trust needs the support of patients/clients/carers and the public who may visit our hospitals. We would ask that individuals visiting patients in our facilities should avoid doing so if they have vomiting and diarrhoea, cold or flu symptoms.

“Members of the public who are attending our Accident and Emergency Departments should advise the staff on arrival if they have gastrointestinal symptoms. This is extremely important to ensure that any condition considered to be of an infectious nature is identified and managed promptly.”

The Trust would ask that all visitors adhere to the following principles when visiting a relative or friends in our healthcare facilities to help minimise the risk of infection:

* Check with the nurse in charge before you visit to ensure that you follow any precautions that may be in place

* Clean your hands before and after visiting the area

* Limit the number of visitors to a maximum of 2 per bed at any one time (cultural preferences and requirements will be taken into consideration when agreeing visiting arrangements for families and carers).

* Ensure that children visiting are supervised by an adult. We recommend that babies and young children should not visit

Please do not:

* Sit on beds; ask a member of staff for a chair if there is none available

* Visit if you or any accompanying adult or child has any infection. Coughs, colds, flu like symptoms, vomiting, diarrhoea or chicken pox are some examples.

* Do not visit until free from symptoms, as you may still be infectious. If in doubt, contact the ward/department for advice

* Bring in perishable food and drink for patients.