The UL Hospitals Group has announced it’s to gradually ease access restrictions at the region’s maternity hospital.
The measures will be implemented at University Maternity Hospital Limerick over the next number of weeks.
There have been widespread calls for maternity hospitals to ease restrictions, introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which in many cases prevented partners of pregnant women from attending prenatal scans and births.
The UL Hospitals Group now says a nominated partner can be present for anomaly scans as of this week.
From Monday, fathers or parents of babies in the neo natal unit will be permitted to visit for up to two hours each evening, depending on activity in the unit at the time.
The Group says weekly risk assessment is ongoing at the facility, with a view to giving a nominated partner 45-minute visiting slots on the hospital’s postnatal wards from Monday, May 10th.
UMHL say the decision to relax restrictions is due to the declining rates of COVID-19 in the region, the number of staff available in the hospital, and the infrastructure of the hospital site.
Visiting on compassionate grounds will continue, as it has been throughout the pandemic, with the relaxed measures subject to change.
Hospital management will continue to review the situation over the coming weeks.
