Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has suspended visiting to its main adult inpatient wards until further notice.

The change applies to Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.

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The new visiting rules, which came into effect on Friday (31 December), are due to rising cases of Omicron in both the local area and within the hospitals.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals said it had been a ‘difficult decision’.

They said: “We will of course be able to continue offering patients/relatives the option of Facetime (or alternative) to speak directly with their loved ones. This can be organised directly with the ward.”

Read more: Nightingale Omicron Hub opened at Royal Preston Hospital

Exceptions apply to adult patients with additional support needs and children, plus visits to emergency, maternity and neonatal departments.

Any visitors must not be Covid-19 positive, must not have Covid-19 symptoms, be awaiting the result of a PCR swab or be in a self-isolation period.

Patients should attend outpatient appointments alone to reduce the spread of infection, however again there are exceptions.

The arrangements will be reviewed on a regular basis.

For more information, visit the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals website.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines