New visitor guidance for hospitals in NW London

From Friday 31 December, we have introduced new visiting restrictions in our hospitals due to the high number of Covid-19 infections in the community.

Please see guidance below across all hospitals in NW London and visit the relevant hospital website for further information.

To keep everyone safe, we can only permit visitors in exceptional circumstances, including:

• Visiting a child
• Visiting a patient at the end of their life
• As a birth partner
• As a carer

Before coming to visit a patient in hospital in exceptional circumstances, please contact the ward or unit to confirm you are able to visit. In areas or on wards where there have been several cases of Covid-19, greater restrictions may be in place.

We know how difficult it is to be separated from friends and family, and we will do everything we can to help you to stay in touch with loved ones (visit the hospital websit for more information). We are regularly reviewing our visiting policies and hope to be able to allow more visitors into hospital when it is safe to do so.

Every patient has different needs and we know there are occasions where we need to adapt our visiting policy. Please speak to your patients’ care team to discuss the best approach.

Carers

Carers are welcome to come to hospital to support patients' health and social needs. A familiar carer or supporter is not considered a visitor. We can provide carers with a carers’ passport so that each patient’s main carer can be identified easily.

Accompanying someone to a hospital appointment or to A&E

Visitors are not currently permitted to come to outpatient appointments or A&E apart from in exceptional circumstances such as:

• where a patient has a regular carer who needs to come to hospital to support their health and social needs – particularly dementia, learning disabilities or autism
• children (anyone under 16) who need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian 

Safety measures for visitors coming to hospital

If you are coming into hospital in exceptional circumstances, you must:

• wear a surgical face mask at all times. Masks are provided at the entrances to our hospitals 
• use hand sanitiser or wash your hands as you enter the hospital and when entering or leaving wards, clinics and units 
• maintain a safe distance from others 
• follow any one-way route signs 

These safety measures apply even if you have had the Covid-19 vaccinations and booster. 

If you are experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19, you must not come to hospital

We advise all visitors to take a lateral flow test or PCR before coming into hospital and to only come in if the test is negative and you have no symptoms. You can order a free supply of lateral flow tests from the government website or call 119.