Hull Women and Children’s Hospital will be locked overnight as an additional security measure to protect families from next week.
Senior maternity staff have taken the decision to introduce buzzer access to the hospital between the hours of 9pm and 7am following incidents where people have entered the hospital to sleep or attempt to access wards and clinical departments.
Tess Dunning, Head of Midwifery, said access would be restricted to patients and legitimate visitors in line with security measures already in place at Hull Royal Infirmary.
She said: “We’ve had incidents in the past where staff coming to work have found people sleeping in areas of the hospital or wandering around the corridors so we’re taking this additional level of security to protect our staff, and the people and families in our care.”
From Monday, 7th September, people will be able to enter the front entrance of the hospital but will only be admitted to the carpeted foyer. They’ll then be able to access the ward or department they require through a buzzer system to the left of the internal, locked doors.
All requests for access will be answered by nurses or midwives in each area including Acorn Paediatric Ward. Anyone requiring the 24-hour Maternity Triage Service will be able to access the department through the buzzer system.
Parents and guardians authorised for 24-hour access to the Neonatal Unit (NICU) will still be able to attend round-the-clock through fingerprint access.
A red emergency phone, connected directly to the hospital’s Labour Ward office, will also be on the wall next to the buzzer system to assist those needing emergency support.