Visiting, staying in touch & dropping off personal items

You sadly cannot visit if:

• You have symptoms of an infectious respiratory disease, which may include symptoms such as a new continuous cough or a high temperature. With these symptoms you must not visit, even if these are mild or intermittent. 
• You have symptoms of gastroenteritis or indeed anyone in their household (e.g. diarrhoea or vomiting) – they should not visit anyone in the hospital until they have been clear for two whole days

• You must clean your hands with the alcohol gel provided when entering and leaving wards/departments/hospital.

• All visitors are asked to wear a mask when in clinical areas for the duration of the visit or appointment.

• Ward staff will ensure that when you enter the ward they provide you with the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• You should bring as few personal belongings as possible with you.

• You must stay at the bedside and not wander around the ward area. There is a nurse call buzzer at every bedside. You may be asked to social distance dependant upon the ward.

• Visits can currently take place between the core times 2pm and 8pm. 

• We may ask you to step out from time to time to support patient care.

• Up to two visitors per patient can be accommodated. This can include one child under the age of 16 as long as their parent has consented. They must be accompanied by an adult and they are counted as part of the two visitors.

• Depending on the ward, visitors will be informed about what to expect when they visit and be given practical advice about social distancing, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and handwashing

• In addition to this, those patients requiring support from relatives for personal care, feeding and end of life visiting will be facilitated at the discretion of the Nurse in Charge.

• We recognise there are exceptional circumstances which require case by case consideration. Please read the Exceptional Circumstances section below for more information on this.

Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) patients will be eligible to have an accompanying adult relative/carer. At times of overcrowding accompanying persons may be asked to leave to ensure there is adequate space for patients. This is at the discretion of the nurse in charge.

Any variation to the above should be escalated to the Nurse in Charge, Matron or Duty Matron.

• Each patient will be eligible for 2 hour visit for up to 2 people between the hours of 12 – 6pm

• Visiting to be arranged with ICU to take place between 12 – 6pm on an appointment-based system, so that visiting is spread across the visiting times. 

The Children’s Unit will now be open for 24 hours access for both parents/guardian/carer.

Both parents/guardians/carers may accompany a child, but only one person can reside overnight after 8pm. (If the patient is in a critical condition both parents can be in attendance together). If both parents are in attendance this must be documented on EPR and reviewed daily by the nurse in charge or the clinical manager.

Siblings can be accommodated between the hours of 12pm and 7pm. Please liaise with the Nurse in Charge so that we can avoid overcrowding at key times of the day.

It is our priority to ensure that all pregnant women having their maternity care with us at the hospital or in the community continue to receive safe and personalised care during the pandemic.

Women may nominate TWO support persons at booking and can have EITHER ONE of them to support when attending as follows:

• All antenatal appointments at CHFT hospital sites including all scans, ONE nominated person.
• At the Maternity Assessment Centre (MAC) and Antenatal Day Unit (ANDU) ONE nominated person.
• For induction of labour - ONE nominated person may attend on admission and stay for a 2 hour settling in period, then as normal visiting hours.
• For Elective LSCS - ONE nominated person may attend the ward on admission and remain to attend in Theatre and in Recovery for up to 2 hours following the birth, then as normal visiting hours.
• Throughout labour and birth ONE or BOTH of the nominated persons may attend and stay for up to 2 hours following birth, except when it is necessary to transfer to theatre, in which case only ONE may accompany.

• Visiting on Antenatal/Postnatal wards, Labour Ward and the Birth Centre - ONE nominated person can visit for any period of time between 10am – 8pm daily. We're sorry, but partners are not be permitted to stay overnight.
• Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will be open for 24 hour access for both parents and if baby is in a critical condition both parents can be in attendance together.
• Our Neonatal High Dependency Unit and Special Care Baby Unit will be open for 24 hour access for both parents but only 1 parent permitted at the cot side at any one time.

In order that we can continue to keep our women, babies and staff safe we have had to implement additional measures:

• Women will be asked at booking to nominate TWO named support person/s for their pregnancy and birth journey and these will be the support person/s for all encounters.
• Children may attend antenatal and postnatal appointments with their mother. We are sorry but children cannot be permitted to attend any scans or visit the ward areas.

• Patients attending outpatient areas are permitted to have one adult to accompany them for the duration of their stay.
• Patients should not arrive more than 15 minutes before their appointment to support flow and reduce crowding within the department.
• Please wear a mask and maintain good hand hygiene to help us reduce the risks to other patients, visitors and our colleagues.
• We do offer a translation service. Sadly family members are not able to translate on behalf of someone as we need to protect their personal and confidential health information. It also means we can follow our safeguarding procedures.

• Children can be accompanied by two adults.

• A child will be allowed to accompany an adult to an appointment when there is no other available alternative. We're sorry, but children are NOT permitted to attend pregnancy scans.

• If you still have access to a lateral flow test, we would prefer you to take a test within 12 hours of your appointment. 

An individual assessment may be needed in other situations and should be discussed with the Nurse in Charge.

Mask wearing 

Children under the age of 11 do not need to wear a mask unless tolerated. Face masks are not recommended for children under the age of three for health and safety reasons.

Emergency Department (ED) adult patients will be eligible to have an accompanying adult relative/carer for the duration of the ED attendance. If a patient is being nursed in the resuscitation area the adult relative/carer will be permitted to swap with another adult visitor if the stay is prolonged.

Children will be permitted to have up to 2 adult people with them (parent/guardian/carer) for the duration of the ED attendance. Onward care will include

• If the child is transferred for assessment to the Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU) the 2 adults will be permitted to accompany the child
• If the child is admitted to the Paediatric Ward the 2 adults will be permitted to accompany the child – please note that only one adult may reside after 8pm to fall in line with inpatient visiting

Contact numbers for updates:

• • Calderdale Royal Hospital A&E - 01422 222325
  • Huddersfield Royal Infirmary A&E – 01484 342396
  • Relatives' Line -  01484 355370 (07.30 to 19.30)
• Patients can use their mobile phones to keep in touch with relatives whilst in A&E. Free hospital Wi-Fi is available to support this.

We recognise there are exceptional circumstances, so please discuss your concerns with the Nurse in Charge.

• Patients who have deteriorated or are receiving palliative care.

• Patients who are receiving bad news.

• Patients who are have a mental health condition where not being present would cause the patient to be acutely distressed.

• Patients living with dementia, cognitive impairment or a delirium who are declining in mood, not taking sufficient diet and fluids and at risk of further deterioration where family can come and support care to encourage them.

• Patients who have a learning disability and require support with this

• Patients who have a diagnosis of autism.

• Visiting should also be considered for patients who are low in mood.

Property for inpatients can be dropped off at the entrance to the ward. Please make sure the items are packaged with your loved one’s name and ring the buzzer when you arrive so we can take it for them, as we won’t be able to let you enter the ward.

Please only send essential items and keep property to a minimum. This helps us keep our areas clutter-free and makes them easier to clean, helping to keep infection rates down.

Due to increased demand, we can no longer accept hot or cold food and you should avoid sending perishables. The items we recommend you bring if required are:

• Night and day clothes

• Sensible footwear

• Toiletries

• Two books and a jigsaw, if appropriate

• If you wish to bring in snacks please keep them to a minimum. Snack-food should have a long shelf life and require no preparation, such as biscuits

• If your relative has a mobile phone or tablet computer and did not bring it to hospital then you may wish to bring one in along with a charger. Please let the nurse in charge know if this is the case so they can add it to the patient belongings register.

* Please note that the Trust cannot be held responsible for valuables which are brought onto Trust sites at your own risk.

Here are our main ward telephone numbers. Should you not see a number you require, please call our switchboard:

• Calderdale Royal Hospital 01422 357 171
• Huddersfield Royal Infirmary 01484 342 000

Sometimes in exceptional circumstances we may temporarily close a ward - for example due to a COVID outbreak. We will make every effort to contact relatives prior to their next visit so they are aware.