Reading hospital restricts visitor numbers due to surge in Covid cases

• Janet Lippett, Chief Medical Officer at the trust is urging people to have just one visitor at a time

A hospital trust in Reading is restricting visitors to just one per patient following a surge in Covid cases.

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has announced it will make changes to its visitor policies to ensure it can protect patients, staff and anyone visiting its hospitals.

All visitors are also being asked to book in advance with the ward clerk, and to complete a lateral flow test before visiting.

The trust said it is also seeing a record number of attendances to its Emergency Department and is encouraging people to visit A&E on their own where they can.

Earlier this month, doctors and nurses at Royal Berkshire Hospital held a two minute's silence to remember those they have lost in the two years since the pandemic was declared by the World Health Organisation.