We have made the difficult decision to stop routine visiting at Furness General Hospital in Barrow due to a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, in order to protect patients and staff.
Visiting restrictions will be kept under review to ensure the safety of our patients and staff at all times.
There are some exceptions where visitors are permitted, including:
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Patients who are receiving end-of-life care,
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Patients under the care of John’s Campaign
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There is also no change to the existing Children’s, Neonates and Maternity visiting arrangements at UHMBT
We know how important it is for family and friends to visit loved ones whilst in hospital, but these measures are in place to keep everyone safe. Please consider other ways of keeping in touch with your family and friends, such as phone calls and video calls on tablets. All patients in our hospitals have access to our free wifi so they can keep in touch with family and friends.
We have also made the decision to temporarily close the beds at Millom Hospital due to staff sickness.
Staffing for our Millom Hospital has been difficult for more than a week, with staffing for the ward being provided by colleagues from the Millom District Nursing Service in addition to securing nursing bank and additional hours from across the team.
However, despite these actions, staffing a full and safe rota is not possible to maintain at this current time, so the decision to temporarily close the unit has been taken and will be reviewed on a weekly basis. Our aim is to reopen as soon as we can provide safe care for our patients.