New measures to crackdown on spread of covid at Sunderland and South Tyneside hospitals over Christmas

Starting from Thursday, December 24, and lasting for a two-week period over Christmas and New Year, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust is taking a number of additional measures to reduce footfall on its hospital sites.

It is hoped that in doing so, it will prevent the further spread of Covid-19 after it was revealed last week that the Trust is now caring for the same number of patients as it was at the height of the pandemic in April,with over 200 patients currently being treated after testing positive for the virus.

The action is being taken after concerns from Trust leaders that the virus is being brought into hospital settings and spread due to complacency creeping in over the rules.

It has also been revealed that staff have had to endure abuse when asking people to wear face masks during visits to hospitals, something which the Trust say is “unacceptable”.

The new measures to halt the spread of the virus by South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust are as follows:

- The number of entrance points where people can access main hospital buildings are reduced.

- All staff and patients will have their temperature checked as they come into the two main hospitals in Sunderland and South Tyneside.

- Staff are to create bubbles to restrict movement between hospitals, wards and departments.

- An increase in testing of patients and targeted groups of staff to help control outbreaks.

Hospital bosses are also asking people not to visit the hospital to drop off presents or gifts to patients or staff members this Christmas after a large number of visitors arrived to do so on Christmas Eve.

A spokesperson said: “We know this is difficult and an emotional time for everyone but please do not come onto our hospital sites unless absolutely necessary and please respect our security teams”

The director of operations at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Sean Fenwick, has revealed that the festive period is a time when non-urgent activity isn’t as busy as normal, making it an ideal time to introduce the temporary measures.

Dr Fenwick said: “Given the recent rise in cases we have seen within our hospitals, we felt the time was right to introduce some further preventative measures to really try and reduce unnecessary footfall onto our hospital sites from people who are potentially Covid-19 positive and unknowingly may risk spreading the virus.

“The festive period is generally a time when our non-urgent activity is a little less busy as people want to be at home with their families and so it makes sense for us to implement these temporary measures now.

"Our absolute priority is to protect our patients and staff and build our resilience so we can meet the challenges that undoubtedly lie ahead as we get into the New Year.

"We need the public to support us now, more than ever. Please help us and don’t come onto our hospital sites over the Christmas and New Year period unless absolutely necessary.”

In addition to the above measures, the Trust is also working to switch even more non-urgent outpatient appointments from face-to-face consultations to virtual appointments over the next two weeks.

Members of the public are reminded that they should seek treatment when needed and hospital admissions are still taking place despite the new measures.

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