Relatives of hospital patients in Colchester are allowed to visit their loved ones again following rule changes made by the hospital trust.

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) now allows patients to have one visitor to see them, having previously ruled against permitting visitors due to an increase in Covid-19 cases.

The new rules, which allow patients to nominate one visitor who will be able to see them during a pre-booked slot for one hour, apply to Colchester Hospital, Clacton Hospital, and Fryatt Hospital – as well as hospitals in Suffolk.

Although it is not mandatory for visitors to be fully vaccinated, ESNEFT has strongly recommended that visitors have received two jabs and show evidence of a negative test result.

Visitors are required, however, to wear personal protective equipment in the form of a facemask, apron, and pair of gloves.

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The Chief Nurse at ESNEFT, Giles Thorpe, encouraged visitors to hospitals to follow the trusts recommendations of a vaccine and negative Covid-test in order for the visits to remain viable.

He said: “We’re very happy that we can safely welcome some visitors back to our hospitals, but we now need our communities' help to keep visiting open.

“Please take up the offer of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the booster if you’re eligible, take a lateral flow test before you visit our wards and stay at home if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or you’re unwell in any way.

Mr Thorpe added that the trust will continue to monitor the number of Covid cases, and made no promises on keeping the new freedom in place if deaths and cases rose.

He added: “COVID-19 hasn’t gone away and while we are still seeing hospitalisations and deaths locally, we need to do all we can to keep our patients, visitors and staff safe.

“We’ll continue to keep our visiting arrangements under close review, including monitoring local rates of COVID-19 infection, and we won’t hesitate to make changes again if we need to.”

Children are still unable to visit patients in ESNEFT hospital wards under the new rules, apart from in exceptional circumstances.