Staff at St. Peter’s Hospital have been coping with an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting since Friday 30^th November but the worst now appears to be over.   During this period around 50 patients and 12 staff have been affected.   It is, however, of note that the majority of staff affected have not been able to work because a member of their family has been suffering from D&V caught elsewhere and our advice to staff, in such circumstances, is that they should report this and refrain from attending work.

As at 11:30hrs on Tuesday 11^th December two wards – May and Elm – were closed to new admissions.   On Falcon and Kingfisher Wards some beds and bays are closed but the Wards remain open.   Decisions on when to open or close beds and wards are based on advice from the Director of Infection Prevention and Control and her team with advice provided by the Health Protection Agency.   The presence of norovirus has been confirmed.

Advisory notices have been in place at the entrances to St. Peter’s Hospital since Friday 30^th November.  The Trust takes the control of infection very seriously and that is why we have recently introduced a deep clean team at St. Peter’s.  This is a rapid response service which can be called on by the Ward staff.  We have also started a programme of decanting wards into spare capacity so that, on a rolling programme, all wards at St. Peter’s can be ‘deep cleaned’.

The advisory notices emphasise the need for good standards of hand hygiene and where wards or patients are affected by D&V the need for additional hand washing.   The notices also ask visitors to support our infection control measures by:

·          Notifying ward staff of their arrival and asking them for the latest position.

·          Not visiting if they have been ill in the last 72 hours.

·          Not sitting on patients’ beds and no more than two visitors at the bedside at one time.

·          Not bringing young children (under 10) unless it is absolutely necessary.

·          Not bringing flowers (alternatives are available including Hospicom TV/telephone cards).

In a letter to patients and visitors Dr Angela Shaw, Director of Infection Prevention and Control says: “The outbreak is due tonorovirus, the cause of ‘winter vomiting disease’, which despite its name can occur at any time of the year.   This is highly infectious, spreading rapidly from person to person, especially when vomiting is occurring.   Symptoms of watery diarrhoea and projectile vomiting can start between 12 and 48 hours after being exposed.   It usually lasts for about 48 hours and has no lasting effects for most people.    There is no specific treatment other than ensuring that the person affected has plenty of fluids.

“We are maintaining strict infection control precautions - hand hygiene, protective clothing where required and environmental cleaning.   However the infection can be spread through the air so control over it is limited.   Affected patients are being nursed together in the same bays and movement between wards restricted.  As norovirus usually starts to spread after it is brought into a hospital from the community, it is vital that nobody visits the hospital who has any diarrhoea and / or vomiting, and if they have had these symptoms that they should have been free of them for at least 72 hours.

“To protect both patients and visitors only the minimum numbers of visitors (i.e. two people - close relatives or friends) should visit patients while this outbreak continues.  Because of the way it is spread all visitors may be at risk and should bear this in mind if they decide to visit.   All visitors should report to the nurse in charge on arrival and follow advice on hand hygiene.    In addition to using the alcohol gel at the entrances to every ward hands should also be washed thoroughly using soap and water before and after visiting the patient.   No visitor should sit on a bed and because flowers are not allowed anyway, a good present for a patient is the purchase of a bedside TV/telephone card.

“We would be grateful for the cooperation of the public while this infection is around.”