HOSPITAL visiting across the south Wales valleys is being suspended due to an increasing number of Covid patients in hospital and rising rates in the community. 

The Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, which operates major hospitals in Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend and the Royal Glamorgan in Llantrisant as well as smaller community hospitals across Rhondda Cynon Taf and Bridgend, is suspending all visiting to general wards. 

It is also introducing further restriction on visiting, from midnight Friday, and says visiting will only be allowed in a limited number of circumstances starting on Septemebr 10. 

Those are when a patient is receiving end-of-life care and visiting has to be agreed with the health board’s specialist palliative care in-patient services and to paediatrics and neonatal areas with only visitor and agreed with the clinical team. 

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One partner, or support person, can accompany a woman once in established in labour, and in the immediate post-natal period prior to either transfer home or to the postnatal area. However there will be no visiting to the antenatal or postnatal wards. 

One partner can attend at ultrasound scan appointments but these will be limited to the appointments at 12 weeks (dating scan) and 20 weeks (anomaly scan) and some scans arranged via the early pregnancy service.

All patients attending outpatient appointments should do so alone and the board says staff will provide support where it is needed.

It has said the decision is a response to more Covid positive patients in hospital and rising community rates. 

Greg Dix, director of nursing and midwifery at the Cwm Taf Morgannwg board, said: “We have taken this step to introduce tighter visiting restrictions at our hospitals because of the very real increases we are seeing in COVID-19 patients in our hospitals. 

“Despite easing of some restrictions in society, we are still very much living in a pandemic, and the numbers of patients ill with COVID and needing hospital care is rising each day. 

“Taking this difficult decision to restrict visiting allows us to control the levels of COVID in our hospitals, keeping our patients and staff as safe as possible.” 

Latest figures from Public Health Wales show there were 2,297 new cases of Covid-19 reported across Wales in the past 24 hours and nine new deaths. 

In the Cwm Taf Health Board area there were 206 new cases reported in Rhondda Cynon Taf, 101 in Bridgend county and 62 in the Merthyr borough. 

The 102.8 positive case per 100,000 people in Merthyr is the fourth highest rate in Wales behind Swansea (103.6), Carmarthenshire (107.0) and Neath Port-Talbot which is at 121.4. 

The rate per 100,00 people in Rhondda Cynon Taf and Bridgend are 85.4 and 68.7 respectively. 

Across the UK the number of patients with Covid-19 in hospital has risen above 8,000 the highest level for nearly six months.

A total of 8,085 patients were in hospital on September 8, according to the latest UK Government figures.

This is up six per cent from the previous week, and is the highest since March 10.

Across Wales patient numbers stand at 428 – the highest since mid-March.

None of the other health boards in Wales have announced visiting restrictions. 

Anyone who feels unwell, even if they have received the vaccine, is reminded they should book a COVID-19 test as soon as possible and isolate until they receive a result. 

  • This article originally appeaed on our sister site The National.