Visiting suspended at Pinderfields, Pontefract and Dewsbury Hospitals as NHS tackles coronavirus pandemic

Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, who run all three sites, said they had taken the decision “in order to protect everyone, as much as we can, from the spread of coronavirus.”

The new rules will come into effect tomorrow (Thursday, March 26), and affect all wards at all three hospitals, including the A&E Department, Urgent Treatment Centre and Wakefield Intermediate Care Unit.

In a statement, the Trust said: “We appreciate this will be difficult and potentially upsetting for people wanting to visit their loved ones in hospital at what is a very difficult time for everyone, but we hope that people understand the reasons why we have felt it necessary to put these measures in place.

“Thank you for your continued support and understanding at this challenging time.”

Urging people to follow government advice regarding hygiene and social distancing, the Trust said that exceptions may be made for parents of patients under the age of 18, carers for patients who require assistance, relatives collecting a patient being discharged, birthing partners or the immediate family of those at the end of life.

In all cases, these exceptions will need to be approved by a ward manager.

At the time of writing, there have been 8,077 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, including 13 in Wakefield.

Last week, it was confirmed that two patients being cared for at Mid Yorkshire Hospital sites had died after testing positive for the virus.

It comes after more than 250,000 people stepped forward as NHS volunteers in one day, following a call for help.

See midyorks.nhs.uk for more information.