Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs hospitals in Andover, Basingstoke and Winchester, has today (1 July 2022) confirmed a change to its mask wearing guidance.
Dr Lara Alloway, chief medical officer at Hampshire Hospitals, said:
“From today we have taken the hard decision to require that surgical masks be worn by all persons – staff, visitors and patients – on our sites. This applies to all non-clinical areas, inclusive of corridors, waiting/ staff rooms and offices, as well as clinical areas such as wards. In addition, we strongly encourage social distancing of at least 1 metre in our hospitals whenever possible.
“These measures have been brought in due to a significant increase in the number of Covid-19 positive patients in our hospitals, very high rates in the community and increasing levels of staff sickness. At present, we are making no changes to our visiting policies.
“We know that these changes are challenging and we would like to reassure everyone that they will only be in place for as long as they are necessary to ensure the safety of our patients, visitors and staff.”
