Visiting Arrangements

Essential visiting arrangements have been re-introduced at all Forth Valley hospitals following a rise in the number of patients with Covid-19 in local hospitals and high rates in local communities across Forth Valley and the rest of Central Scotland.

Essential visits include:

• Visits to support a person receiving end-of-life care – to ensure they are able to spend meaningful time with their loved ones in their final days, weeks or months
• Visits to support someone with a mental health condition such as dementia, or a learning disability or autism, where not being present would cause the patient to be distressed
• Visits in situations when someone is receiving information about a life-changing illness or treatment
• Visits in situations where support from another person is essential for advocacy and wellbeing
• A birth partner to support woman during hospital visits, scans, during and after labour*
• Visits from both parents to support a baby or child in hospital*

*additional visiting information for our Women and Children’s Unit is outlined below

Essential visiting arrangements will be applied flexibly and compassionately, and each patient’s needs will be considered on an individual basis. Those providing spiritual care are not considered visitors and will be able to continue to support patients in local hospitals.

You should not visit if you:

• Are feeling unwell
• Have a new or continuous cough
• Have had sickness or diarrhoea within the last 48 hrs
• Have had a temperature or fever
• Have experienced any change to your normal sense of taste or smell
• Are self isolating because you have been in contact with someone with suspected or confirmed Covid-19
• Plan to use retail facilities, cafes or toilets as these are only for the use of staff, patients and visitors

Visitors should:

• Carry out an lateral flow tests before each and every visit. These can be collected from local Covid-19 testing centres, pharmacies or ordered online for home delivery
• Maintain physical distancing in wards and communal areas
• Wear a surgical face mask – these are available at hospital entrances
• Use hand sanitiser before you enter the hospital and before and after you enter a ward or department or touch anything
• Wear PPE, if required or asked to do so by a member of staff and follow any other guidance in place
• Take the stairs, if possible, to avoid overcrowding in lifts which are restricted to a maximum of two people

Visiting arrangements – Women and Children’s Unit

• Antenatal appointments – one supportive person to accompany to all appointments.
• Maternity scans – one supportive person may be present for all maternity scans.
• Labour and birth – you can have one birth partner throughout induction, labour and birth (except during a general anaesthetic).
• Maternity Ward visiting (Ward 8) – one birth partner with time restrictions only where required to support physical distancing.
• Neonatal visiting – both parents/primary care givers are supported to have maximum access to their baby together, maintaining physical distancing within the Neonatal Unit.
• Children’s Ward – patients in the Children’s Ward can have visits from both parents/care givers maintaining physical distancing within the Children’s Ward.
• Paediatric Day Care Unit (PDU) – PDU work as much as possible as a blue zone with planned procedures and will therefore continue to be restricted to one parent with exceptions, where appropriate.

Stop & Drop Service – Forth Valley Royal Hospital

The Stop and Drop service allows family members and friends to deliver essential items to patients or collect laundry while they are in Forth Valley Royal Hospital

Any bags dropped off must be clearly labelled with the patient’s name and the name of the ward they are in.

Drop off times for all ward areas –

• Monday to Friday – 10.30am to 2.30pm

Collection of laundry is available (from Mon 17th January 2022) – 

• A Block wards – Monday & Wednesday – 10.30am to 2.30pm
• B Block wards (including ITU & cardiology) Tuesday & Thursday – 10.30 to 2.30pm

Ward staff will contact family members or friends to arrange for laundry to be collected, if required.

Mental Health Wards (1 – 5) – Please contact the wards direct to make arrangements to collect laundry.

Shops, Toilets & Food Outlets

The restaurant at Forth Valley Royal Hospital is not currently open to the public.

Appointments

Please attend appointments on your own to help maintain physical distancing and avoid waiting areas becoming overcrowded. If you have been driven to a hospital please ask friends or family members to drop you off and return to pick you up later or wait for you in the hospital car park. This is particularly important in the Emergency Department, Outpatient Department, X-ray Department and Minor Injuries Unit as these areas can be very busy.

However, in certain circumstances one person can attend with a patient – this includes:

• when a person may have difficulty understanding what treatment or course of action a clinician is discussing
• where a person has dementia, a learning disability or autism
• where a person is receiving bad news or information that is potentially life-changing
• where a person is receiving a cancer diagnosis or discussing cancer treatment options
• accompanying a pregnant woman to an appointment or scan (this would be a birth partner in most instances)
• where a person is distressed or stressed

Preparing for an operation

Patients must strictly follow the national public health guidance on physical distancing, wearing face coverings and, in particular, reduce their social contacts/interactions for 10 days before surgery and self-isolate for 3 days before their operation.

If you receive an appointment for a Covid-19 vaccine for during this 10-day period you should call the local Covid-19 vaccination helpline on 0800 130 3120 to reschedule your appointment. Ideally your vaccine should be given more than ten days before your surgery or one week after.

For further information and advice see the Pre-surgery Advice and Guidance.