Weston General Hospital has fully re-opened to new patients after it temporarily stopped accepting new patients due to a high number of Coronavirus cases.
The hospital – which is used by people across the Burnham-On-Sea area – had closed temporarily to new patients on 25th May to “maintain patient and staff safety.”
The A&E department has reopened and clinics have resumed after there were no new Coronavirus cases on non-Covid wards and following staff testing.
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, which run Weston Hospital, said it can now “safely re-start services.”
The A&E department is open from 8am-10pm daily and all clinics have restarted so patients with scheduled appointments should “attend as planned.”
Staff had been tested “at least twice” or had completed recommended isolation periods to confirm they did not have Coronavirus.
The hospital has the “appropriate levels” of personal protective equipment and anyone visiting has been asked to wear a face covering.
The trust’s medical director, Dr William Oldfield, says the strict criteria that were put in place to ensure the hospital can safely re-start services has been met.
He adds: “Ensuring the safety of patients and staff at the hospital remains our number one priority and this has been at the heart of our careful planning to re-open. If there were any concerns about the safety of our patients or staff we would not be taking this step.”
“From today we are asking our patients to come to their appointments as planned. In addition, our A&E is open again from 8am-10pm every day for emergencies.”
“The strict criteria we put in place to ensure we can safely restart services have been met; deep cleaning has been carried out at the hospital and appropriate zoning and social distancing measures are in place in line with national guidance. All current inpatients have been tested for coronavirus infection with no new cases in the hospital’s non-COVID wards since the temporary measures were introduced. Staff have also been tested, at least twice, or completed recommended isolation periods, to confirm they do not have coronavirus infection.”
“We have appropriate levels of Personal Protective Equipment available and this is being used in line with national guidance. In addition, anyone coming to our hospital will see our staff wearing face masks and will themselves need to wear a face covering, in line with recent guidance for all hospitals.”
“The re-opening to new patients has only been possible thanks to our fantastic, committed and hard-working staff who have done an exceptional job in challenging circumstances. We’re also incredibly grateful to our partner organisations, who have supported us and ensured patients have continued to have access to the care or treatment they need whilst the temporarily closure has been in place.”
“We would like to thank our patients, their families and carers and our local community for their patience and understanding as we have worked to re-open their hospital.”
