Whipps Cross Hospital begins reopening
Following guidance from the Health Protection Agency, Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust has remained closed from most activity to enable the norovirus to clear, but will now begin the process of reopening parts of the hospital.
The A&E department reopened to ambulances on Friday 30 January 2010 and 10 wards are now back working normally.
The Maternity, Paediatrics and the Outpatients departments continue to operate as usual, as does the Emergency and Urgent Care Centre.
Elective surgery, where patients would require an in-patient stay after a procedure, remains closed at this stage.
There continues to be no visitor access to any of the wards at Whipps Cross due to heightened infection control precautions and these will remain until further notice.
For the Maternity Department only, one birth partner will be permitted onto a ward during this time – no children will be allowed.
For Children’s services only one parent per child will be allowed.
Individual patient’s needs can be discussed with the ward Sister, who can grant permission to access in exceptional circumstances.
Security are present at entrances and their role is to question the need for access to the site.
Strict infection control safety measures remain in place and have been taken in closing the shops, restaurant and Jobs Junctions to the general public.
Norovirus is a common winter ailment, which can be highly contagious and causes symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea.
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