Northumberland Hills Hospital has reverted to a stricter visitor policy with the number of COVID-19 cases rising in the community.
As of Dec. 24, the Cobourg-based hospital will allow one essential caregiver per day to visit an admitted inpatient or accompany a patient for an ambulatory, outpatient visit or procedure, so long as they are able to meet the expectations set out in the hospital’s Phase One COVID-19 visitor policy.
“We recognize the hardship families have faced throughout the pandemic, and we thank everyone for their continued patience and understanding as we work to balance the safety of our patient population and care team with visitor and caregiver access,” said Susan Walsh, NHH President and CEO, in a press release on the hospital’s website. “Throughout the past two years we have relied on our COVID-19 Visitor Policy, developed with input from NHH’s Patient and Family Advisory Council
and guidance published by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, and it has guided us well. Unfortunately, with cases continuing to rise in the community and region, and the percent positivity of provincial test results at an all-time high, we must again move to limit visitor interactions with patients, unfortunately at a time when many families were just looking forward to gathering.”
Exceptions will continue to be made, at the discretion of the care team, for patients at end-of-life.
Visits to confirmed COVID-19 positive patients, or patients suspected to be positive and awaiting lab results, continue to be prohibited.
Essential caregivers will be expected to follow these precautions:
• Pass the screening criteria upon entry (if screening failed, entry to the hospital will
not be permitted)
• Don a hospital-issued mask that covers both mouth and nose and any necessary PPE required at the time of visit
• Clean their hands with hand sanitizer provided. If wearing gloves, will be asked to remove them and discard to ensure hands are cleaned thoroughly.
• Restrict their presence to patient’s bedside only and maintain physical distancing.
• Limit movement in/out of patient’s room
• Follow COVID-19 visiting hours where applicable (recognizing these are subject to change)
• Use public washrooms only (no use of washroom in patient room)
• Refrain from consuming food in patient room and not bring outside food or drink for the visitor
• Provide their name and contact information at screening desk to support contact tracing
NHH’s Virtual Visiting program will continue to be available. Virtual visits may be scheduled weekdays by contacting the hospital’s Virtual Visiting Team at 905-372-6811 ext. 3146 or by email to virtualconnections@nhh.ca.
