Hospital wards are closed

Housman, Lickey and Clent, at the Stourbridge Road site, are closed to admissions and discharges.

Last week there were 11 symptomatic patients in the Lickey ward. It was closed for admissions and non-urgent transfers, but the problem has since spread.

A spokesman for the Worcestershire Primary Care Trust said: “The situation is easing at the hospital after it reached a peak at the end of last week and the weekend.

“Cottage ward is still open and we are allowing visitors to patients, although they need to be aware that some patients may have had norovirus, a particularly infectious form of diarrhoea and vomiting.”

Last week hospitals in the area were on alert after they saw a steady increase in the number of people with diarrhoea and vomiting in the community who were either going into accident and emergency or passing on the infection when visiting.

Fourteen wards across the county were affected by the diarrhoea and vomiting outbreak.

At the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch, and Worcestershire Royal, some non-urgent elective/planned operations were still being cancelled on Monday.

Outpatient and other appointments are running normally so people should attend unless they have any symptoms of diarrhoea and sickness. They need to be clear of any symptoms for more than 48 hours before going into hospital either for an appointment or to visit.

Residents are also being urged to think twice before visiting family and friends on the wards as patients are particularly vulnerable.

They will need to follow stringent infection control measures if they do visit ward areas.

Noroviruses are a group of viruses that are the most common cause of gastroenteritis (stomach bugs) in England and Wales. The virus is easily transmitted from one person to another.

It can be transmitted by contact with an infected person; by consuming contaminated food or water or by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects.