Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust is extending its visiting hours | News

Hospital patients will now be able to spend more time with their loved ones as Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust is extending its visiting hours for adult inpatient wards.

From today (Monday 26 January), visitors can visit between 12pm and 8pm daily, providing greater flexibility for families and friends to spend time with patients.

Vicki Mumford, Chief Nurse, said: “We know how important visits are for our patients' recovery and wellbeing, and for giving families peace of mind. These extended hours provide much-needed flexibility while ensuring patients can still rest and have their privacy maintained.”

The changes have been made following consultation with patients and their visitors as part of the trust's ongoing efforts to improve the hospital experience for patients. 

As well as increasing options for visitors, the trust anticipates this move will enhance communication between senior ward staff and families, increase stimulation for patients, and ease parking pressures through staggered visitor arrivals.

Until today, visiting times were 2-4pm and 6-8pm, so visitors now have an extra four hours to visit loved ones. 

To ensure patients continue to receive safe and timely care, visitors may occasionally be asked to step out briefly to allow therapy sessions or personal care to take place. 

Other visiting restrictions remain in place, including no children under 10 years old and a maximum of two visitors at a time.

To keep patients safe, loved ones are asked not to visit if they have any signs of infection, or have had diarrhoea, vomiting or flu symptoms in the last 48 hours.

There are no plans to change visiting hours in our children’s and maternity wards or in our specialist Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department, where local visiting arrangements remain in place. 

For more information, visit our visiting information page.