Information for visitors

Find out more about visiting our hospitals

Getting to our hospitals

To find out more about how to get to our hospitals, where to park and parking charges please visit the getting here page under each hospital in the hospitals page.

Please note that the Trust has introduced a ‘protected mealtimes’ policy which seeks to ensure that patients are able to take their meals without interruptions. Please see the hospital food page for more information.

 

Visiting arrangements

Click here for the most up to date visiting arrangements

Alternatives to visiting:

If you are unable to visit someone staying in our hospitals in person, alternative methods of contact are available to help keep you in touch.

Our wards have iPads available that can support video calling to help our patients stay connected. You can find out more information about the scheme here.

Our Patient Experience team can help you keep in touch with loved ones through our Letter to a Loved One scheme. You can find out more information about the scheme here.

 

Contacting the ward

We know that it can be a worrying time when your loved one is in hospital and you will want to know how they are. It would help if only one member of the family contacts the ward after 1pm and they can pass on the information to the rest of the family. Contact details for individual wards at our hospitals are available on the wards page.

 

Visitors accommodation

High quality apartment share accommodation is located conveniently at each of our hospital sites and subject to availability is available to relatives of patients, people attending training courses or interviews and contractors working on our sites.  All apartments have secure access, shared lounges/dining areas, fully equipped kitchens and individual bedrooms with en-suite facilities.

If you wish to enquire about this please contact the accommodation booking clerk on (01476) 464487 or by emailing [email protected]

Preventing the spread of infection

From Thursday 11 January 2024, patients and visitors will be asked to wear a hospital-provided face mask when attending some areas of our hospitals.

Everyone will be asked to wear a hospital-provided type IIR surgical face mask unless medically exempt when attending the following areas:

  • Emergency departments, urgent treatment centres and other admission areas, such as Oncology Assessment Units and Paediatric Assessment areas.
  • Admission wards: Medical Emergency Assessment Unit (MEAU) and Surgical Emergency Admissions Unit (SEAU) at Lincoln County Hospital, Integrated Assessment Centre (IAC) and Acute Medical Short Stay (AMSS) at Pilgrim Hospital Boston and Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU) at Grantham and District Hospital.
  • Haematology/Oncology wards: Waddington ward at Lincoln, the Bostonian at Boston and chemotherapy units.

Face masks will also be available if you would like to wear one in other areas of our hospitals.

If you are unwell, please don’t visit until you are feeling better. If you have symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting please do not visit the hospital until you have been clear of these symptoms for at least 72 hours.

Hand hygiene continues to be very important. Please ensure you regularly use alcohol hand rub available to clean your hands both before and after you visit a loved one. Hand rub dispensers can be found at the entrance to each ward in our hospitals. Please notify a member of staff if these need replacing.

Wash your hands with soap and water after going to the toilet, to prevent the spread of infections such as norovirus which can be a problem during the winter months.

Patients are asked to only bring in essential belongings, to help make it easier for our cleaners to clean.

Smoking policy

We are a smokefree Trust. Smoking is not permitted anywhere on our hospital sites, including car parks. We are smokefree so we can provide a safer environment that promotes health and reduces harm from exposure to second-hand smoke for all of our staff and patients. Providing a smokefree environment is in line with The Health Act (2006) and The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2013 guidelines which state that all hospital sites should be 100% smokefree.

Those who insist on leaving the ward areas to smoke will not be obstructed, but will be advised of the smokefree policy and asked not to smoke within the hospital grounds. E-cigarettes and vaping will still be permitted within outdoor areas of the Trust as long as it is not done in close proximity to others.

Further information can be found on the smokefree website pages.

Violence and aggression policy

The safety of our patients, visitors and staff is our number one priority. As a Trust we take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of staff who may be exposed to the risk of aggression, violence or abuse in the workplace. All staff have a right to work without fear of violence and abuse. We work closely with the police to deal with assaults, both physical and verbal. Anyone who assaults an employee during the course of their work will be liable to prosecution.

Patient entertainment

Funded by United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity we are now able to offer all patients a free entertainment resource accessible from their own devices (mobile phones, tablets, laptops etc.). SPARK® Media allows patients to access live TV, hospital radio, digital magazines/newspapers, games, on demand services and e-books.

When staying in hospital, make sure to bring a device with access to the internet, a charger, and headphones.