Families and friends are being asked to carry on keeping patients safe by limiting their visits to hospital.

Visiting was banned at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 but later reintroduced in certain circumstances at many hospitals.

The government is now removing many of the pandemic restrictions that affect people’s everyday lives – but curbs on hospital visiting remain in place.

Dr Kate Clark, medical director at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We know from conversations we have with patient families how distressing it can be not being able to visit freely.

“However, many of our patients are frail and vulnerable, and we must continue taking precautions to keep them safe while the potential for Covid infection remains.”

Arrangements can be made for visits by appointment to some patients who need direct support from family and friends. Support visiting to a general ward is usually limited to one person per patient or two people where the patient is at the end of their life.

Separate arrangements are in place for visits to maternity and the children’s ward at Ormskirk hospital, and North West Regional Spinal Injuries Centre at Southport hospital.

Other requests to visit should be discussed with the nurse or matron in charge. Individual visiting plans can be supported in exceptional circumstances.

Dr Clark added: “We continue to see deaths of patients with COVID. The threat from this deadly disease has not gone away. We must learn to live with COVID and still protect those at risk.”