Hospital visiting ban

A TOTAL ban on visiting was put in place at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick yesterday due to an escalation of the winter vomiting disease.

There have been 12 confirmed cases in seven areas of the hospital and strict infection control precautions are in place as a result of the ban, visiting is only permitted in the case of critically ill patients and paediatrics.

Hospital authorities have reminded the public that because of the amount of winter vomiting in Irish society, visiting is a major contributing factor in spreading the disease to hospitals and this was the reason for the visiting ban.

A hospital spokeswoman said: “Out-patient, day care services and routine hospital admissions are not affected, however members of the public will be asked to provide their appointment cards for inspection by security at the hospital.”