Diarrhoea and vomiting outbreak forces Scots hospital to suspend visiting

A Scots hospital has suspended visiting after an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting.NHS Grampian closed three wards at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin to new admissions with only essential visitors being allowed in after the outbreak, reports the BBC.

This comes after a critical incident where several patients from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary had to be diverted to Dr Gray's to help NHS Grampian cope with pressure on services.More than 50 patients and staff have been affected at the Moray hospital, which has been operating at 124 percent occupancy for the last week.

Dr Gray’s duty manager, Louise Pearson, said: “We have made this decision to protect patients, family members and staff until the situation is resolved.“We have taken the difficult decision to suspend non-essential visiting across the entire hospital in an effort to prevent any further spread.

We understand the vital support that family and friends provide and are sorry for how this will affect you."Only essential visitors, including parents of child patients, family of patients at the end of life, carers and supporters for dementia or learning disabilities, and supporters for pregnancy and childbirth, will be allowed on siteMs Pearson added: “We would assure the public that those facing life-threatening situations are continuing to be seen rapidly for life-saving treatment, as an absolute priority."Following a critical incident on Saturday, NHS Grampian diverted ambulances to hospitals outside its area because of sustained and continuing demands on Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.Patients were transported to Elgin and Dundee where "clinically appropriate".