Most hospitals no longer allow visits to corona patients at all. This concerns 53 of the 69 hospitals that RTL Nieuws compared. Some of these hospitals have a general visitor stop for all patients in the hospital. So you may not see a sick family member for weeks.
Shortage of protective clothing
Several hospitals indicate on their website that it is a very annoying measure, but say that it is the best way at the moment. This also applies to Amsterdam UMC. Ic doctor Armand Girbes explains that the risk is too great that family members are also infected. “If those people come to visit the intensive care unit, they must wear protective clothing. But there is a shortage of it. That is why we decided that the visit is not possible.”
Irma Huijgen’s parents have both been hospitalized with corona since a week. They stay in the Zaans Medical Center and visitors are not allowed there. Irma understands that, but the impact is huge if you can’t visit your seriously ill parents, she says. That is why she has come up with creative solutions to still have contact with them.
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Visiting a family member with a corona is still allowed in more than 20 percent of hospitals. Usually the visit must wear protective clothing.
Without a mask, in normal clothes
What is striking is the visit schedule of the Medisch Spectrum Twente: you can go to intensive care without a mask and in normal clothing. If you only keep a meter and a half away and wash your hands well.
The visit must go through a separate entrance, explains hospital director Sophia de Rooij: “So that they do not come into contact with other employees or visitors. So in that sense we do not consider that dangerous. In fact, we think it is also beneficial that people also visit their loved ones. “
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We see additional measures at a number of hospitals in the northern provinces, such as UMC Groningen and Nij Smellinghe in Drachten. They have an extra rule: visits from outside the northern provinces are not welcome in the hospital.
No national guideline
Some hospitals report that they are struggling with the policy. For example, the Rivierenland Hospital in Tiel is considering a more flexible policy. At the moment, corona patients are not allowed to receive a visit there at all, because the hospital is afraid that the protective equipment will be used up too quickly. But they hope to allow visitors soon.
RIVM says in a response that there is no national guideline for visit arrangements. Healthcare professionals should best decide for themselves what is possible within their hospital.
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What about my hospital?
All hospitals have information on their site about their visitor policies. Check your hospital site for the most up-to-date information.
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