By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Effective Wednesday, Northumberland Hills Hospital in-person visiting hours will return to the 8 a.m.-to-8 p.m. schedule for inpatient units, similar to the practice introduced in the fall of 2020.
This new COVID-19 Visitor Policy has been approved with input from front-line staff, physicians, screeners and members of the hospital’s Patient and Family Advisory Council.
The announcement offered additional guidelines, such as the 24-hr.-a-day visiting hours within the Emergency Department.
Visitors will continue to be on hold for any patient who is confirmed or presumed to be COVID-positive.
The maximum daily number of visitors or essential caregivers will again be limited to one person per patient per day (on inpatient units) or per visit (for the Emergency Department), with exceptions – at the discretion of the care team – for palliative/end-of-life patients.
Obstetrical patients will be permitted to have a primary partner and labour coach, if desired.
All visitors will continue to be required to sign in and document their contact information for contact-tracing purposes.
Visitors who have been vaccinated for COVID-19 must pass the screening process and will be expected to follow all required infection-prevention and -control practices within the hospital.
Patients/substitute decision makers will be responsible for designating their own visitors/essential caregivers and to communicate that wish to the rest of their family/social circle in advance of any visit to avoid people having to be turned away at the entrance. Patients who wish to have different individuals visit on different days are asked to communicate this to their loved ones in advance.
Meanwhile, NHH urges you to consider the alternative of virtual visiting appointments. These are available weekdays, and may be requested by either patients or their family members or friends. Phone appointments are also available upon request. Anyone interested in this option can contact the hospital’s Virtual Visiting Team at 905-372-6811 ext. 3146 or virtualconnections@nhh.ca and include their preferred-contact information as well as the unit, room number and initials of the patient they would like to connect with (note – to protect patient privacy, the patient’s full name should not be included in an e-mail).
For more information on visiting at NHH (including the COVID-19 Visitor Policy and the Frequently Asked Questions document, visit www.nhh.ca/Patients/VisitingGuidelines.
