The festive season is over, the artificial Christmas tree has been packed away and your dry January is in full swing – but the norovirus isn’t going anywhere.
We’ve covered the Norovirus many times before on this blog, not least because it’s one of the largest problems in the world of hospital hygiene, especially during the winter months.
Despite consistent warnings NOT to visit hospitals if you’re suffering flulike symptoms, serious outbreaks of the norovirus have surfaced in hospitals across the country.
One of the worst affected is Lincoln County Hospital, in an outbreak which has continued unabated for more than three weeks.
Patients and staff in the hospital were first hit by the bug on 18th December, leading to several wards being labelled as ‘restricted access only’.
Sustained outbreak
Andrew Prydderch, the trust’s deputy director of operations, said, “We’ve had a lot of attendances over the weekend as we expected, with numbers higher than 200 coming into A&E on most of the days.
“We’ve had a continuation of the outbreak, both from existing cases on the wards but also quite a few new cases coming in as well.”
Lincoln County Hospital isn’t the only hospital affected – according to the Guardian, various hospitals have run out of beds. In the first week of December, 1,545 beds were lost thanks to sufferers of the norovirus.
A solution
The influx of new patients placing a strain on the NHS is likely to mean one thing – a downturn in hygiene efficiency.
Without the right waste and hygiene services on hand, and at peak-efficiency, in hospitals, the likelihood of more hospitals restricting wards will increase.
We can offer a high-quality waste service, amongst other services that will increase the quality of your medical institution. Take a look at our site to see how you can remove some of the strain from your hospital.
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