Our new visiting charters will be up in ward and department entrances by the end of this week. The charter sets out what visitors can expect from us and what we ask of visitors when they come to our wards and departments.

It’s all part of our work to extend our recommended visiting times for adult inpatients to between 10:00 and 20:00, which starts today.

Matron for Patient Experience, Alex Keaskin, said: “Colleagues I’ve spoken to over the past couple of weeks have been overwhelmingly positive about the changes. There is an understanding that this person-centred care approach to visiting will not only be of benefit to our patients, but it will also help visitors give extra support to their loved ones, which allows colleagues more time to care.”

Below is a reminder of the key information:

• Our recommended visiting times for adult inpatient areas have been extended to run from 10:00 to 20:00. If a patient wishes to receive a visit outside of these times, we should support this wherever possible
• Up to two visitors for each patient (in adult inpatient areas) at the bedside are recommended at any one time, but more visitors should be accommodated with visits away from the bedside such as in the day room, restaurant or gardens if clinically appropriate
• Patients should be accompanied to appointments by the person of their choice
• Some clinical areas have specific visiting arrangements – these can be found on the intranet, along with the charters 
• When a situation arises and an in-person visit is not possible at all, alternative options should be discussed to make a reasonable adjustment. If a visit cannot be arranged, colleagues are required to complete the Exceptional Circumstances form - the link is on the intranet and also sits with the new policy (see below)
• Visitors may be asked to step out by ward staff from time to time to enable patient care to take place
• A new In-Person Visiting and Accompanying to Appointments Policy has been added to the Policies and Documents Library, along with the Exceptional Circumstances form

Sharing feedback or any questions?

We would like to hear colleague feedback about the changes to the visiting policy. Please email Patient.Experience@cht.nhs.uk with your thoughts.

The Visiting and virtual support for patients and their loved ones - CHFT Intranet pages have been updated with the information.