Bradford Teaching Hospitals is making another appeal to the families of young patients for only one parent or carer to attend hospital with each child.
The Paediatric Emergency Department (PED) at Bradford Royal Infirmary is seeing a sudden surge in young children suffering from winter infections and is appealing for only one adult to attend with each patient to prevent overcrowding.
Due to the rules on social contact being relaxed this year, and the subsequent rise in Strep-A cases nationally, health professionals are urging families to only send one parent or carer with each child.
And the Trust is urging adult patients to need to attend A&E to come on their own if possible to reduce overcrowding in the hospital’s main A&E department.
Chief Nurse at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Karen Dawber, said: “We are once again appealing for families to follow our one child, one parent rule as we are still seeing multiple members of families attending with a child, meaning that there has been significant overcrowding.
“Space is limited in the Paediatric Emergency Department and we want it to be comfortable for all children and families who are waiting to be seen, so that’s why we really need people to help us by only one parent or carer accompanying each child to avoid overcrowding.
“We also really need adult patients attending A&E to come by themselves to make the environment comfortable for all patients who need urgent or emergency care.”
Worried parents are bringing in children who have sore throats, a high temperature and difficulty breathing, increasing demand on the city’s PED.
Doctors are typically seeing children generally suffering from a range of respiratory conditions such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), bronchiolitis, paraflu or rhinovirus, the symptoms of which are a cough, runny nose and fever.
During the surge in paediatric cases, the Trust has re-introduced the one adult, one child policy (the exceptions will be if the child has significant disabilities).
Parents can also seek help from their GP, local pharmacy, NHS111 or https://wyhealthiertogether.nhs.uk/
