Visiting on the wards

You may well find that the visiting hours on the wards are very different, as are the rules about how many visitors a patient can have at any one time, or if children are allowed to visit. Ask the staff if you're not sure.

Please don't visit if you're feeling in any way unwell

Your family member may be at increased risk of picking up any bugs you may have as they are still recovering from a serious illness. No matter how much you want to see them, and them you, please don't visit if you're feeling in any way unwell.

Be careful about how many visitors your family member has

While visiting on Intensive Care is usually limited to family and close friends, there may be others who would very much like to visit him or her now that they are on the road to recovery.While some patients really enjoy having visitors to break up the day, others like to have privacy and time to rest.

"I just didn't want to see anybody the first few days. I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I just didn't want to see anyone.I just felt so weak, I didn't want anyone to see me like that."