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Raigmore Hospital visitor ban to be reviewed

Bosses at Raigmore have pleaded with relatives to limit their calls to wards
Bosses at Raigmore have pleaded with relatives to limit their calls to wards

A ban on visiting the north’s flagship hospital will be reviewed by health bosses this morning as the battle against a highly contagious bug continues.

NHS Highland took the unprecedented step of banning all visitors from Raigmore Hospital on Friday after norovirus spread through the patients.

It was hoped the outbreak would be over by today, however, the number of cases increased at the end of last week.

The ban on visitors was in place throughout the weekend. Four wards containing patients with norovirus symptoms also remained closed to new admissions.

Last night NHS Highland said no new cases of the superbug had been reported since Friday.

The health board said the airborne bug was “rife in the community” and had been spread by visitors to the hospital.

A total of 37 people have shown symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea since the start of the outbreak.

Four patients on ward 5C, five on 3A, 11 on 7C and 17 on 2C have been affected.

Senior bosses will discuss the ongoing crisis – and the possibility of lifting the visitor ban – at a meeting this morning.

Patients must be symptom-free for at a minimum of 48 hours before deep cleaning of the wards can begin.

Relatives concerned about their loved ones can contact their wards by phone, and visitors will be allowed into the hospital in “exceptional circumstances”.

Outpatients clinics continued to operate on Friday.

Dr Adam Brown, consultant microbiologist for NHS Highland, said: “By reducing the amount of traffic coming into the hospital we hope that will reduce the risk of any more outbreaks of norovirus.

“We would ask members of the public not to come into hospital to visit any ward unless by prior arrangement with the nurse in charge.

“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.”