Skip to main content

This site is best viewed with a modern browser. You appear to be using an old version of Internet Explorer.

Visiting now allowed at weekends at Oxford University Hospitals

16/07/2020
This article is more than three years old.

Following a successful trial of relaxing our visiting restrictions during the week, we are now allowing visitors to our hospitals at weekends too.

From Saturday 18 July 2020, we will be extending our 'rule of one' visiting to apply seven days a week.

The same rules will apply for the weekend as during the week - one visitor, for one hour, per patient, once a day.

One hour slots will be booked in advance by staff on the ward, who will contact named next of kin to arrange the appointment.

Some patients will have different arrangements, such as women in labour, child patients, patients at the end of their life, and patients with learning difficulties.

Visiting is still not allowed on wards where we are treating patients with COVID-19, and patients are expected to attend our outpatient departments unaccompanied.

Patients attending our Emergency Departments and Emergency Assessment Units are also expected to be unaccompanied unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Sam Foster, Chief Nursing Officer at the Trust, said: "We have been really pleased to welcome visitors back to our hospitals. It's been lovely to have their support for their loved ones while they're under our care, and it's a really important part of our patients' recovery.

"Now, following our successful trial of the 'rule of one', we are extending visiting hours to include the weekends too. We will still have measures to keep our patients and visitors safe, and this may mean that your experience is a little different to normal. We will keep this under review and would like to thank everyone in advance for their continued patience and understanding."

Full details including time slots, full guidance, and what to expect when you are visiting are available on our website.

The 'Keep in Touch' service is also available for those who cannot visit their loved ones - please see our news story for more information