Visiting suspended at Sunderland and South Tyneside hospitals after Covid-19 cases continue to rise

Leaders at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust have made the “difficult decision” to suspend visiting on all adult inpatient wards at South Tyneside District Hospital and Sunderland Royal Hospital from Saturday, January 1.

The suspension will also include visitors to the Trust’s Intermediate Care and Rehabilitation (ICAR) Unit based at Houghton Primary Care Centre.

It follows a rise in the number of confirmed Covid-19 hospital admissions at the Trust over the past few days.

Despite having 56 cases across the Trust’s hospitals, meaning that it is not as high as numbers experienced during previous waves of the pandemic, bosses are concerned at the rate at which numbers have increased.

It is hoped that the move will protect both staff and patients, many of whom are vulnerable and at higher risk of serious complications caused by Covid-19.

Melanie Johnson, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust said: “Due to a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 admissions in our hospitals, we have had to make the difficult decision to suspend visiting to all of our adult inpatient wards.