Weston General fully reopens after coronavirus outbreak at the hospital
Watch the full report by Max Walsh
Weston General has fully reopened after more than three weeks after it was forced to shut to new admissions due to a coronavirus outbreak.
An internal investigation is now underway to found out how the the virus spread through patients and staff. The hospital has conducted around 5,000 tests to ensure the outbreak was contained. Those affected were told to self-isolate.
"It may be that the (small) size of the hospital limits room for segregation, and keeping staff in different teams. A big investigation is underway to find out the root cause. At all times we were following guidance. The difficulty has been patients and staff having no symptoms at all," said Robert Woolley, Chief Executive at University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust.
Weston General had to stop admitting patients in May after around 4% of its 1700 staff, along with some patients, tested positive for coronavirus.
People in need of treatment from then were sent to nearby hospitals.
On 11 June it partially re-opened again, after reassuring the public that those working inside had been tested "at least twice" to make sure they didn't have the virus.
The emergency department is now open between 8am and 10pm every day. All clinics at Weston General have resumed and patients who were admitted to nearby hospitals have been re-admitted.