Visitors are being asked to stay away from a Highland hospital because of an increase in sickness bugs – just days after it reopened.
Both inpatient wards at Belford Hospital in Fort William were recently closed due to a norovirus outbreak.
The wards reopened on Friday but now hospital bosses are urging visitors to stay away to reduce the risk of the virus being brought back into the hospital.
The hospital’s day case and outpatient services are otherwise running normally.
Dr Brian Tregaskis, consultant physician and clinical director at Belford Hospital, said: “We know that the virus is very prevalent in the community at the moment and what can sometimes happen is that people will get admitted to hospital who have the virus or someone will come in to visit a loved one and unwittingly pass the virus on to them.
“By restricting visiting as much as possible we hope to reduce the chance of that happening.
“Hospital staff will of course be very happy to talk to visitors on the phone so they can get updates on how their relatives are. However if you feel that visiting is essential please contact the ward first by phone before coming to the hospital.”
Samples taken when the inpatient wards were closed confirmed that norovirus was present.d.
The virus, which causes diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, spreads in the air where someone has had diarrhoea or vomited and is extremely infectious.