HEREFORD COUNTY HOSPITAL has a full set of wards again with a norovirus outbreak under control.

Frome Ward was confirmed as re-opened this morning (Mon) after an intensive deep clean.

From was the last ward still shut to norovirus with Lugg ward having re-opened on Thursday.

But visiting restrictions stay in place for patients who may have experienced of diarrhoea or vomiting symptoms until they have been “clear” for at least 48 hours.

Wye Valley NHS Trust believes the bug behind the latest outbreak was brought in.

Patient pressures, complicated by the outbreak that saw wards shut and beds lost, caused the trust to call an “internal incident” at the hospital for the second time in a month.

The closures of Lugg ward – for a second time – and Frome ward came just 24 hours after the trust had made the internal incident call.

By then, patients with norovirus symptoms were presenting at under pressure A&E and subsequently having to be admitted.

The trust has already recorded admission numbers up by 16 per cent on this time last year.

Amongst those numbers are said to be a significant percentage of “seriously ill” patients unsuitable for quick discharge.

Many others were older with “complex needs”.

The internal incident  was prompted by particular pressure on A&E over a weekend with staff already struggling to meet assessment and treatment targets

The Hereford Times has reported how patient pressures saw back office staff at the hospital working on wards to help with non-clinical tasks like fetching, carrying and cleaning.

In recent weeks, the trust has lost around half of its beds and a number of its staff to norovirus.

Over February 8 to 11, norovirus struck to shut Lugg Ward and Arrow Ward and closed Ross Community Hospital to admissions and transfers.

With up to four wards closed to admission at the outbreak’s height, patient flow through the hospital slowed down leading to poor performance and patient experience.