Hospital wards had to be closed to prevent patients being infected (Image: Getty)
A major has urged members of the public to help limit the spread of infections, after it was forced to close three wards due to an outbreak of .
St George’s Hospital in Tooting, , said bays had to be closed to admissions and transfers to protect new patients from exposure to the winter vomiting bug.
Professor Arlene Wellman, group chief nurse for St George’s, Epsom and St Helier, said: “Once norovirus enters a hospital, it can rip through our wards like wildfire, making patients even sicker.
“We are doing everything we can to limit the spread, but you can help us.
“Hand sanitisers such as alcohol gel do not kill the bug – the simple act of good hand washing with soap and water can make all the difference between our beds being used to care for patients, or lying empty at a time when every bed is precious.”
Don’t miss…
The appeal comes after England warned hospitals had experienced their “busiest week” so far this , with more than 98,000 patients on wards across the country last week.
The UK Health Security Agency said the number of norovirus outbreaks being reported by hospitals this winter was 16% higher than the average for the previous five years.
Epidemiologist Amy Douglas said cases were “way above what we would usually see at this time of year and outbreaks in hospitals continue to rise”.
She added: “Just because you’ve had norovirus doesn’t mean you won’t get it again.
“It’s really important that if you have diarrhoea and vomiting, you take steps to avoid passing the infection on, including not visiting people in hospitals and care homes.
Don’t miss…
“Do not return to work, school or nursery until 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped and don’t prepare food for others in that time either. This is because you can still pass on the virus in the days after you stop being sick.”
Symptoms of norovirus include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea but can also include a high temperature, abdominal pain and aching limbs.
Some 961 hospital beds in England were filled by those suffering from norovirus, up 7% from 898 the previous week.
Flu rates had fallen from a peak last month but more than 2,462 patients were still hospitalised with the illness on average each day last week, including 122 in critical care.