COVID-19 update
Maternity services
Due to coronavirus (Covid-19) we have introduced restrictions
guided by NHS England to maintain the safety of all mothers and
babies, and reduce the risk of any infection entering the wards.
Please see the details below. We have also put together a frequently asked questions
page to help with any queries you might have.
We will continue to keep this guidance under careful review, in
line with the national advice from the Chief Midwifery Officer for
England.
Thank you for your understanding during this challenging
time.
UPDATED: Visitor guidance for maternity patients at St
Michael's Hospital
From Wednesday 5 August, one nominated
person will be able to visit maternity patients at St Michael's
Hospital once a day during the visiting hours of 3pm - 5pm
only.
Women will be asked to name their nominated visitor, usually the
birthing partner, who will need to collect a letter from the main
reception desk at St Michael's Hospital each time they visit.
Anyone not carrying a letter will be politely informed they are not
permitted to visit. When the visitor leaves, this letter must then
be handed back to the ward reception. The nominated visitor must be
the same person throughout the patient's stay in the hospital.
If you believe that you have additional needs that need to be
taken into account please contact the Matron or your community
midwife who will be happy to discuss this with you.
Visitors must wear a face covering, gloves and an apron at all
times. Visitors can wear their own face covering, but one will be
provided for you on arrival if you don't have one. Gloves and
aprons will also be provided.
Please do not visit if you have any symptoms of Covid-19.
Siblings and all other visitors are not able to visit at this
time.
Labour and birth at St Michael's Hospital
- A nominated non-symptomatic birthing partner is allowed to be
with you during labour and the birth. If you give birth on the
midwife led unit or central delivery suite and you and your baby
are able to go home within 2-3 hours after giving birth, your
partner will be able to stay with you until you and your baby
leave.
- If you are being induced on the ward and go into labour, your
birthing partner will be called and invited to support you before
you are transferred to the delivery suite.
- If you need to stay at St Michael's as an inpatient,
one nominated person is allowed to visit once a day between
3pm - 5pm only. Please see visitor guidance above for
details.
- If your baby needs to be admitted to the neonatal intensive
care unit (NICU), non-symptomatic parents can visit - two parents
to the ICU rooms and one parent at a time in the HDU and SCBU
rooms.
Reopening of Aschombe Birth Centre
From Friday 14 August 2020, all appointments will once again
take place at the Ashcombe Birth Centre after temporarily being
held at the outpatients department at Weston General Hospital.
The centre will reopen for births from 9am on Monday 17 August.
If you are due to give birth at St Michael's Hospital but would now
like to consider the Ashcombe Birth Centre, please speak to your
community midwife.
For more information, please visit the
Aschombe Birth Centre webpage.
Appointments in Bristol, Weston and the community
- You can be accompanied by one non-symptomatic person (ideally
the birth partner) for the first trimester scan. For additional
routine scans please attend the appointment on your own. If you
believe that you have additional needs that need to be taken into
account please contact the Matron by calling switchboard on 0117
923 0000.
- Consultant antenatal appointments and scans will continue as
usual. Please attend these appointments on your own. Women will be
offered telephone appointments where clinically appropriate.
- Children are not allowed in clinic or on the wards.
- Community midwifery clinics and home visits are still running
as necessary; women are being assessed and only essential
face-to-face visits are being undertaken.
- No antenatal classes or tours of the unit are currently
running.
For fetal medicine and early pregnancy clinic
appointments you can be accompanied by one
non-symptomatic person.
These measures have been put in place to protect our patients,
staff and visitors, and we will continue to keep this guidance
under review.
If you have any questions, please contact your
midwife.
Once transferred to the postnatal ward, free WiFi is available
to everyone so patients can make phone or video calls to their
family and friends using apps including Facetime, WhatsApp or Skype
and mobile reception is available across our site. Please be
aware that we do not allow any video calling, photographs or
recordings to be carried out during scan appointments due to the
concentration required by the sonographer.
The maternity team has created this video to help explain some of the
restrictions currently in place and what to expect when you give
birth at St Michael's Hospital. Patient Laura has also shared her
experience of giving birth at the hospital during the restrictions
in this video.
Click here to view the video
This animation sets out what pregnant
women should expect from NHS maternity services during the
coronavirus. Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, Chief Midwifery Officer, and
Dr Matthew Jolly, National Clinical Director for Maternity for the
NHS in England explain what might change and why it is important to
keep in touch with your maternity team.
Click here to view the video
NHS Volunteer Responders scheme
The NHS Volunteer Responders scheme is open
to all pregnant people, not just those who are shielding
or vulnerable.
Volunteer responders can help with picking up
shopping or prescriptions, lifts to/from hospital
and health appointments. Call 0808 196 3646 or visit
their website for more details.
