From Monday 11 April up to two people will be able to visit a non-COVID patient at the same time for up to one hour a day on an appointment basis.
Visits will continue to be between 10am and 8pm and will need to be booked directly through the relevant hospital ward. Daily visitors can be different from day to day.
Visitors cannot attend if they:
Have symptoms of a respiratory infection, a high temperature and / or any other COVID-19 symptoms
Have tested positive for COVID-19
Have been identified as a close contact (for example someone in their household has had COVID in the last seven days)
Have symptoms of another infectious disease
People visiting a high risk area might be asked to take a lateral flow test within 24 hours of attending hospital to ensure they are COVID-19 negative.
Flexible visiting can still be arranged when:
Visiting a child or baby
Visiting a patient at the end of their life or when they are critically ill
You are supporting someone with dementia, a learning disability or autism, where not being present would cause the patient to be distressed
These flexible visits can be arranged by calling the ward and asking to speak to the nurse in charge.
Help us keep everyone safe
Lindsay Garcia, deputy chief nurse, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome more visitors back into our wards. It was lovely to watch friends and family being reunited with their loved ones when we reintroduced some of our visiting in February.
“Due the enormous success of the vaccination programme and following recent updates to national guidance our experienced clinicians have agreed we can ease restrictions further.
"Although this is another step in the right direction, it’s really important that people keep their loved ones, other visitors and our staff safe by not attending our hospitals if they have COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19, have identified as a close contact or have symptoms of another infectious disease.”
A full list of COVID-19 symptoms can be found on NHS England’s website.