YORK Hospital has made sweeping changes to its visiting restrictions, with many rules now at their most relaxed since before the pandemic began.

Visitors and people accompanying them to outpatient appointments or the emergency department are no longer routinely required to wear a facemask, says the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

However, they may be encouraged to do so following a local risk assessment.

It said that visitors in most inpatient areas will also revert back to pre-pandemic guidance in most circumstances, with the exception of High Risk Ward areas and some departments.

"In inpatient settings where patients are at high risk of infection due to immunosuppression, eg oncology/haematology, visitors may be asked to wear a facemask following a local risk assessment."

The trust stressed that anyone showing any symptoms of Covid-19 should not visit because of infection prevention and control reasons, and it encouraged all visitors to help keep patients safe by undertaking a lateral flow test before visiting.

However, it said it would not ask for the results of lateral flow tests on their arrival.

"Face coverings should be worn at all times unless medically exempt to do so, for which evidence should be provided, or a surgical face mask if you are attending a high risk area or a patient with suspected/known Covid-19," it said.

It said that no patient should have to attend on their own unless it was their personal choice.

The trust said it had also made changes in the maternity department, saying it understood that the last few months had been 'really difficult' for new and expectant families.

"Throughout this time, we have been working hard to continually reviewing the time that birth partners can be present, while being able to do so safety in the physical space and environment available and within the two metre social distancing advised for healthcare settings," it said.

"We are pleased to confirm you can now have one birth partner visit you for a six hour slot on the antenatal and postnatal wards. Slots can be pre-booked and are available either between 8:00am-2:00pm or 2:00pm-8:00pm. Please telephone the ward to book."

The changes come as the trust currently has 77 confirmed and suspected Covid-19 inpatients Trust-wide, with two in critical care - far fewer than at the height of the Omicron wave earlier this year.

The trust brought in tough visiting restrictions around the New Year in response to the surge in Covid cases caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Patients could only have the same single visitor each day, staying for a maximum of an hour a day. The family of an 86-year-old patient allowed only two hospital visits in four weeks described the restrictions as 'unacceptable and cruel.'