Shrewsbury hospital wards closed after cases of norovirus
An outbreak of norovirus cases has led to the closure of two hospital wards.
Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) confirmed the wards had been shut at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) due to a number of cases of cases of diarrhoea and vomiting.
Sara Biffen, deputy chief operating officer at the trust, said that wards 24 and 28 at the hospital had been fully closed this afternoon after five cases of norovirus were confirmed.
She explained that the wards had been closed because of the number of bays affected.
It comes after the trust yesterday confirmed it had five bays closed on wards at RSH "due to several cases of diarrhoea and vomiting".
It urged people to "only visit our hospitals if necessary and help prevent the spread of infection by washing your hands".
Ms Biffen said: “Unfortunately, due to the number of symptomatic patients, it has been necessary for us to close two wards to new admissions.
“We are taking all the actions we can to prevent any further spread, but we would also ask people visiting our hospitals to help us by only attending if it is absolutely necessary and, if you are coming to our hospitals, by washing your hands regularly.”
Norovirus, also called the “winter vomiting bug”, is a stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhoea, which goes away in about two days.
Dr Patricia O’Neill, Consultant Microbiologist and Director for Infection Prevention and Control at SaTH, added: “Please do not visit hospitals or care homes if you, or the people you live with, have had diarrhoea, vomiting or flu-like symptoms in the last 48 hours.
“If you are unsure whether to visit, please feel free to contact the ward you intend to visit before you come into hospital.”
