Visiting Update for Portiuncula University Hospital

Following new national guidance on visiting, visitors to all hospitals will be asked to produce their EU Digital COVID Certificate or HSE COVID-19 Vaccination Record or other proof of immunity at the entrance.

There are exemptions from the requirement for the EU Digital COVID Certificate or HSE COVID-19 Vaccination Record or other proof of immunity, on compassionate grounds.

Anyone coming to the hospital must complete a COVID-19 screening checklist which is a verbal questionnaire and follow the public health guidance, including wearing a face mask and performing good hand hygiene regularly.

James Keane, Hospital Manager, Portiuncula University Hospital said, “We know how important it is for patients to have a visitor every day and we are trying to balance this need with the need to reduce the footfall in the hospital due to the current high number of COVID-19 cases in the community.

“Access to visitors is limited to one person per patient each day between 3:00pm and 4:30pm. We ask that the nominated support person (visitor) telephones the relevant ward in advance to book a visit. The contact details for the ward are given to the patient when they are admitted.

“There are separate arrangements in place for access to the maternity department for nominated support partners.

“Children may not visit the hospital unless agreed in advance, on compassionate grounds, with the ward / unit manager.

“If you are a nominated support person (visitor) for a patient in the hospital, we ask that you do not visit the hospital if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in contact with anyone with COVID-19 or are awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test.

"We are grateful to the public for their ongoing co-operation in ensuring we can facilitate visiting in a safe manner to protect both patients and visitors.”

The updated national guidance is available here:

COVID-19 Guidance on Access to Acute Hospitals for Nominated Support Partners, Accompanying Persons, Visitors and External Service Providers (For implementation on 29.11.2021)

https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidanc...