Denise Welch has spoken out about why she thinks letting people visit family in hospital is vital. Though her friend has now since been able to visit his mum in South Tyneside Hospital - and the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust has since announced plans to ease visiting restrictions generally from Monday - Denise told ChronicleLive it was a wider issue - and she feared for the mental health of vulnerable people suffering in hospitals up and down the UK.
Denise said: "It's a wider issue than just my friend - and it's a wider issue that I don't think is being talked about enough.
Now that the war in Ukraine is happening, people are forgetting about Covid. Go here for the latest NHS news and breaking North East public health news "Though I'm relieved about that in many ways, we need to remember some hospitals are still not allowing people to come and see their loved ones. "I'm aware Covid is still around, but there's no excuse at this stage two years on. " She said since speaking out about her friend, she'd had messages from tens of people struggling in that situation.
Denise said she thinks that if people are vaccinated, take lateral flow tests and are cautious, they should be able to visit their loved ones in hospital.
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