Norovirus outbreak at Royal Oldham

Staff at The Royal Oldham Hospital are dealing with an isolated outbreak of Diarrhoea and Vomiting (known as D&V or the Norovirus) within the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU).

Patients and visitors to hospital - particularly older people and parents with infants and children - are being advised to avoid visiting the hospital if they are suffering from vomiting, sickness and diarrhoea. They are urged to stay at home, drink plenty and contact NHS Direct.

Visiting times have been restricted to 30 minutes to control the outbreak. Notices have been displayed on all wards across the hospital.

All local GPs are also being asked not to send any patients with Diarrhoea and Vomiting and to minimise acute admissions, particularly referral to A&E, if possible.

A spokesperson for The Pennine Acute Trust which runs The Royal Oldham Hospital said: “Like many hospitals at this time of year, the Trust has admitted patients with diarrhoea and vomiting. Our nursing staff and infection control staff have acted swiftly and professionally to isolate the infected areas to avoid the Norovirus spreading.

“The priority is to protect our patients and staff. The MAU function has been temporarily transferred to a short stay ward on T5 at the hospital. Infected patients have been isolated and patient movement has been minimised. We believe we have identified the source and we will be constantly reviewing the situation over the next 48 hours. The infected unit will be deep cleaned and re-opened when we can.

“In the meantime, we have restricted visiting times and are asking patients to follow the advice given by primary care and to avoid coming to hospital for treatment unless necessary. If patients do need to attend A&E they must inform staff if they have symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting.”

The Trust aims to fully reopen the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) after a review over the weekend.