Weston General Hospital is now fully open to new patients from today (Thursday).

The hospital started to accept new patients from June 11 in a phased reopening.

The A&E department is open between the usual hours of 8am-10pm every day for emergencies.

In addition, all clinics have restarted and the hospital continues to receive patients who, due to the temporary closure, were initially admitted to neighbouring hospitals for their care and treatment.

Patients who have an appointment scheduled from today onwards do not need to contact the hospital to confirm their appointment, they should attend their appointment as planned.

The hospital is continuing to contact patients whose appointments were cancelled during the temporary hospital closure to reschedule their appointment.

Weston General temporarily stopped accepting new patients, including into its A&E department, from 8am on May 25.

MORE: Coronavirus outbreak sees Weston hospital close to new patients.

This was a precautionary measure in order to maintain the safety of staff and patients in response to the high number of patients with coronavirus at the hospital.

Medical director at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust,which runs the hospital, Dr William Oldfield, said: “Ensuring the safety of patients and staff at the hospital remains our number one priority and this has been at the heart of our careful planning to reopen. If there were any concerns about the safety of our patients or staff, we would not be taking this step.

“From today, we are asking our patients to come to their appointments as planned. In addition, our A&E is open again from 8am-10pm every day for emergencies.

“The strict criteria we put in place to ensure we can safely restart services have been met; deep cleaning has been carried out at the hospital and appropriate zoning and social distancing measures are in-place, in-line with national guidance.

“All current inpatients have been tested for coronavirus infection with no new cases in the hospital’s non-COVID wards since the temporary measures were introduced.

“Staff have also been tested, at least twice, or completed recommended isolation periods, to confirm they do not have coronavirus infection.”

Dr Oldfield stated the hospital has appropriate levels of personal protective equipment available which is being used in-line with national guidance.

Staff will wear face masks and anyone coming into the hospital will need to wear a face covering, in-line with recent guidance for all hospitals.

Non-emergency conditions can be treated in minor injuries units, such as those in Clevedon or Bridgwater, or NHS 111 can be contacted for advice.

Dr Oldfield added: “The reopening to new patients has only been possible thanks to our fantastic, committed and hard-working staff who have done an exceptional job in challenging circumstances.

“We’re also incredibly grateful to our partner organisations, who have supported us and ensured patients have continued to have access to the care or treatment they need while the temporarily closure has been in place.

“We would like to thank our patients, their families and carers and our local community for their patience and understanding as we have worked to reopen their hospital.”