Shropshire hospitals tell winter bug victims stay away

It comes following an outbreak of norovirus across the country. On Friday, City Hospital in Birmingham was closed to visitors after patients on four wards came down with norovirus or symptoms of the bug.

At the moment there are no official restrictions on visiting at the Shropshire hospitals but bosses at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital have urged people to follow their advice to prevent a future outbreak.

Trust spokesman Andy Rogers, said: "Across the NHS there has been an increase in the number of cases of Norovirus in recent weeks. Diseases such as this can be exacerbated by colder weather and can be particularly serious for people who are already ill or who have a long-term condition.

"This is why we would ask anyone who has had diarrhoea, vomiting or 'flu-like' symptoms not to visit hospital until they have been clear of symptoms for at least 48 hours.

"Symptoms of norovirus include diarrhoea and vomiting and, just like flu, the virus can seriously affect vulnerable patients."

Mr Rogers said the number of cases of norovirus could vary from day to day.

He said: "At the moment there are no restrictions on visiting either the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford or the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, but we would still urge people to follow the advice we've issued about helping prevent the spread of Noro-virus vulnerable patients and staff. At times we may need to isolate bays within our wards, so anyone planning to visit a relative or friend should also check in advance whether the ward they are planning to visit has been affected."

For advice issued jointly by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust visit www.sath.nhs.uk/media/news_archive/norovirus.aspx

By Catherine Ferris