The Department of Health has streamlined public hospitals’ visiting hours in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and provide consistency for the public.
Visiting hours will now be 10am to noon and 5pm to 7pm, seven days a week.
In a statement, the Department said these hours did not apply to essential visitors, mental health advocates or other statutory personnel.
The Department said visitors would also be allowed outside these hours for compassionate or palliative care reasons.
“In some essential situations, clinical judgement may allow a visitor to stay as an essential visitor if they are helping feed a patient over lunch time,” it said.
“Where possible, visitor numbers should be limited to the same four visitors per patient a day.”
The Department said the consistent approach would make life easier for those visiting a loved one in hospital, while ensuring appropriate screening of visitors could be carried out to keep patients safe.
“The introduction of these new hours coincides with the requirement for all hospital visitors to show proof of vaccination before visiting a hospital,” it said.
“All public hospital visitors will be expected to undertake screening and risk assessment before entry and will also be required to register their visit via ServiceWA, SafeWA or a manual register.”
Minister for Health, Amber-Jade Sanderson said the Chief Health Officer had introduced the measures to ensure safe visitation during the spread of Omicron.
“The new hours provide the public with consistency so that, no matter which of our hospitals your loved one is in, you can easily know when you can visit them,” Ms Sanderson said.
