The Cayman Islands Hospital has dropped its ban on COVID patients receiving visitors, as well as requirements for everyone to wear masks on hospital premises and for patients to undergo testing for the virus prior to being admitted.
According to a copy of the Health Services Authority’s revised policy, which the Compass has seen, the restrictions were lifted on Sunday, 21 May.
The changes to the policy come less than two weeks after the Compass highlighted the heartache of the Watler family who was unable to visit Freddie Watler, 85, after he tested positive for COVID when being admitted for medical care and who passed away in September last year after spending two weeks in the hospital.
Family members were finally given permission to see him just 12 hours before he died, though he was not conscious at the time.
Mask, pre-admission testing requirements lifted
The updated policy removes a general requirement for anyone on hospital premises to wear a mask, except when visiting COVID patients or in certain areas.
People are still required to wear masks in dialysis, oncology, intensive care, critical care and neonatal intensive care units, as well as in operating theatres.
Up until this week, people being admitted to the hospital or preparing to undergo procedures as an out-patient were required to be tested for COVID.
Now, under the new rules, routine pre-admission and/or pre-procedural COVID-19 screening is no longer required, except for symptomatic patients and those requiring dialysis.
Some restrictions remain
Under the revised rules, no more than two visitors at a time are allowed to visit COVID-19 patients. Those visitors are required to wear masks provided by the hospital and must adhere to strict hand hygiene.
They are not allowed to visit any other part of the hospital after leaving the patient’s room.
The policy document notes that those visitors may also still choose to participate in video visits as an alternative to coming to the hospital in person.
Jeannette Watler, Freddie’s stepdaughter, told the Compass following the publication of her family’s struggle to come to terms with not being able to be by his bedside in his final days, “We are hoping the policy will be reviewed and changed to allow family members to visit their loved ones.”
She had earlier written to the HSA requesting an urgent change to its no-visitor policy in COVID cases, saying, “It is inhumane and heartless for a family to be denied access to see their loved one, especially when the family was given no indication that he may not survive until approximately twelve hours before his death, as was the case with my stepfather.”
When told of this week’s change of HSA policy, she said, “Thank God for answered prayers. I am so relieved to hear this but … it’s sad that it was too late for Freddie and my family.”
HSA Medical Director Dr. Delroy Jefferson told the Compass earlier this month that there had been certain exceptional circumstances in which visitors would be allowed to see a COVID patient, depending on that person’s “clinical condition at the time of the visitation request or if the patient’s condition changes suddenly”.
The HSA’s COVID-19 task force recommended the changes following a recent meeting.
The policy document notes that the task force based its decision to lift the ban “on updated science supported by local COVID trends, and regional and international epidemiology”.
The HSA’s task force will continue to monitor these trends and make any future changes to the policy accordingly, according to the document.
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