Norovirus: Help keep our most vulnerable patients as safe as possible

Medical Matters by Dr Joanne Watson, director of infection prevention and control at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

The number of cases of norovirus is increasing in both our hospital settings and out in the community.

Also known as the ‘winter vomiting bug’, norovirus is a stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhoea.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently reported that the country is seeing its highest levels of cases for this time of year in over a decade.

The main symptoms of norovirus are feeling or being sick and diarrhoea. You may also have a high temperature, headache and aching arms and legs.

The symptoms start suddenly within one to two days of being infected and can be very unpleasant, but usually go away in two days.

You can treat yourself at home by resting and drinking water to avoid dehydration, but you should call your GP or 111 for advice if your symptoms last longer or worsen.

Norovirus can spread very easily. You can catch norovirus from being in close contact with someone with norovirus, touching surfaces or objects that have the virus on them, then touching your mouth.

You can also get it from eating food that's been handled by someone with norovirus.

We all need to maintain good hand hygiene. Washing your hands frequently with soap and water is the best way to stop it spreading.

Alcohol hand gels do not kill norovirus so it is much more beneficial to wash hands with soap.

When someone with norovirus vomits, droplets contaminate surrounding surfaces. A bleach-based household cleaner or a combination of bleach and water should be used to disinfect potentially contaminated household surfaces and commonly used objects such as toilets, taps, telephones, door handles and kitchen surfaces.

If you are ill, avoid cooking and helping prepare meals for others until 48 hours after symptoms have stopped, as norovirus can be spread through food contaminated by the virus when food is handled by symptomatic people or infected individuals.

Wash any contaminated clothing or bedding using detergent at 60°C and wash your hands carefully after touching contaminated materials.

Please stay at home if you are experiencing norovirus symptoms and don’t return to work, especially if you work with vulnerable people or food, until 48 hours after symptoms have stopped.

It is a good idea to avoid visiting elderly or vulnerable family and friends until clear of symptoms.

To help us, we also ask that if you have had symptoms of norovirus to stay away from our hospitals and healthcare settings until 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped.

We know this can be difficult, especially if you want to visit a loved one who is staying in one of our hospitals but it is in their best interest to avoid catching the virus.

The teams on our wards work really hard to keep families in touch with patients. We have the Sending Love programme which allows people to send in messages.

Norovirus can have a much greater impact on those in our care who are already poorly, so we want to keep them as healthy as we possibly can.

An increase in cases of any infectious diseases can lead to us taking the difficult decision of temporarily closing wards to visitors.

By avoiding our healthcare settings while you have norovirus, you are also helping to keep our staff healthy. Our infection control policies require staff to stay away from work until 48 hours after their symptoms stop, so an increase in cases can affect our staff absence rates.

These policies are in place to keep the most vulnerable people in our care as safe as possible.

To find out more about norovirus and how to treat it at home, visit www.nhs.uk, and if you are worried about someone with norovirus symptoms, call 111 or visit www.111.nhs.uk