Non-essential visits at Dr Gray’s hospital have been suspended today following an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting.
That’s after 50 patients and staff have contracted the viral infection as three wards have been closed at the Elgin facility.
Staff have apologised for the disruption to visitors at the hospital, but said the action was necessary to “prevent any further spread”.
Now, only visits that are deemed necessary will be allowed for the meantime. End of life patients, children and those with dementia will be amongst those that will still be permitted access to family visits.
Duty manager at Dr Gray’s, Louise Pearson said: “We have made this decision to protect patients, family members and staff until the situation is resolved.
Dr Gray’s outbreak limiting ability to take new patients
“Wards five, six and seven are currently closed to new admissions as a result of the outbreak, but we have taken the difficult decision to suspend non-essential visiting across the entire hospital in an effort to prevent any further spread.
“We understand the vital support that family and friends provide and are sorry for how this will affect you.
“Ward iPads are available to support people to stay in touch with friends and family virtually, for further information, patients and their families should speak with our ward staff.”
Mrs Pearson added that ward closures were limiting the ability to admit patients to hospital wards and this was impacting their emergency department.
“We would assure the public that those facing life-threatening situations are continuing to be seen rapidly for life-saving treatment, as an absolute priority,” she continued.
“It is vital patients phone NHS 24 on 111 before attending the Emergency Department or a Minor Injury Unit – unless the situation is life threatening, for instance a suspected stroke of heart attack, in which case you should call 999.
“Using the 111 service allows us to keep waiting times to a minimum and better manage hospital capacity.”
‘Critical situation’ at NHS Grampian stood down
Meanwhile, NHS Grampian have stood down a board level critical incident put in place on Thursday.
After “very high” demand on its services and partner agencies, some patients were being diverted away from hospital such as Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Dr Gray’s.
But now the organisation has confirmed that order has now been terminated.
Since Thursday it was confirmed that a “small number of patients” were diverted away, and a low amount of elective surgeries were postponed.
Chief executive, Adam Coldwells said: “Thanks to the hard work of our colleagues and our partner agencies, we have reached a point where we have been able to stand down the board level critical incident.
“As part of that step, we are no longer diverting ambulances away from Grampian.
“I must thank the colleagues right across health and social care, who have been working tirelessly to keep things moving through this complex and challenging situation.
“We now enter a recovery phase, which will include a review. I will give an update to the NHS Grampian board at our meeting on December 12.”
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