Chief nurse urges patients and visitors to help keep our Sussex hospitals safe from covid

Scientists have made a recent discovery of a mutation to the Delta variant, ‘Delta Plus’ which has accounted for a rapid surge in covid cases throughout the nation within the past month.

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSussex) said cases in East and West Sussex had risen by nearly 50 per cent, resulting in concerns of the challenges that this may inflict on the NHS.

In light of this rise in cases the trust, which operates St Richard's in Chichester, Worthing, Southlands, Royal Sussex County in Brighton and Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath and tends to more than 1.5 million outpatients annually; is appealing to locals to respect and support their ‘one patient, one visitor policy’ when entering your local hospital. This policy has been in effect since the beginning of the year, to aid the safety of their patients, staff and visitors.

To enable visitations to carry on during the uncertainty of the pandemic, the policy allows a pre booked visit of one person per patient, with exceptions to those in maternity and neonatal wards, visiting children or visiting patients receiving end of life care.