POOLE Maternity Unit has reintroduced restrictions meaning partners will no longer be allowed to stay overnight.

NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group said this was due to ongoing issues with aggression towards staff, complaints from service users and an increase in covid cases.

The new restrictions include:

  • Antenatal clinics, antenatal day assessment unit and scans: one partner only permitted in the waiting room and consulting room.
  • Labour ward and Haven birthing suite: two birthing partners permitted.
  • Antenatal ward, postnatal wards, transitional care unit: one partner or visitor and any one time, open visiting 10am-11pm, no overnight stays.

Read more: "Being separated from your partner after birth can be traumatic"

A post in Dorset Maternity Voices, a page run by NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group said: “You may have seen recent discussions in our Facebook group about ongoing issues with partners staying overnight at Poole.

"There has unfortunately been an increase in aggression towards staff, and complaints from service users about behaviour from some partners on the wards.

"In addition, a recent increase in COVID cases locally has meant renewed concerns about social distancing in such cramped wards.

The post continued: “The Head of Midwives at Poole feels that, due to the difficulties and the impact on other service users, partners can no longer stay overnight in bays on either the postnatal or antenatal ward.”

In March, Poole Hospital lifted their visiting restrictions, as they were one of only three trusts in the UK currently still restricting postnatal visiting to one hour a day.

Mothers who experienced the restrictions during the pandemic, say they caused ‘extreme distress and they had difficulty caring for themselves and babies as a result of not having their partner with them at night.’

At the time, Lorraine Tongue, the Director of Midwifery, acknowledged that the restrictions were ‘a cause for concern.’

READ MORE: Hospitals in Dorset announce change in postnatal visiting hours

Speaking about the reintroduction of the rules, a UHD spokesperson said: “This decision was taken very reluctantly by our senior team based on further advice from infection prevention control, taking into account the outdated design of our maternity unit at St Mary’s.

“We also have to take into account helping to protect the privacy, dignity and safety of all mothers and their babies in our maternity wards.

“We want to ensure that our mothers are able to have protected time and this is not possible with visitors there 24 hours a day.

“The midwifery matrons are aware that most service users find it very comforting to have a relative or their partner present but that in a shared ward, they also have concerns about sleeping while strangers are awake and in the same room.

“We have worked hard to ensure that not all partners are banned from staying overnight but instead individual decisions are made for those women who have special circumstances, such as those with disability, significant communication challenges or complex medical, mental or social factors which necessitate additional social support.

“We have accommodated postnatal women in other areas such as the birth centre and the bereavement suite in order for them to have their partner stay overnight.

“Both of these areas have ensuite facilities which are necessary when a partner is accommodated overnight.

“The visiting risk assessments will be kept under review by the Trust in line with national guidance and local prevalence of Covid as well as taking into consideration our estate and footfall in certain areas.

"Our visiting guidance for maternity is published here: https://www.uhd.nhs.uk/services/maternity/poole”