Families and caregivers can start seeing patients in Hamilton hospitals

The days of video calling loved ones inside hospitals are over as both of Hamilton's hospital networks will begin allowing family and caregivers of patients to visit again as the COVID-19 pandemic slows.

The phased approachwill allow visitors to access inpatient areas.It's unclear if there is a limit on the number offamily members or caregivers who can visit.

The visiting hours will be between9 a.m. and 8p.m. at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton.

At HHS, one adult can visit a patient's bedside and must stay in the room for the duration of the visit.At St. Joe's similar rules apply. Patients can designate up to two people who can visit. Only one visitor can see them at a time.

Before entering, they need to pass screening and must wear a mask.

Most ambulance patients cannot have someone accompany them for now.

There will also be exceptions to the hours and number of visitors for extenuating circumstances, like labour and delivery as well asend-of-life care.

Visitors can bring in food for themselves or the patient they are seeing but it can't be shared and must be eaten in the room. Food delivery is also allowed, so long as visitors pick up the meals at the front hospital doors.

Family and caregivers can drop off items like clean clothes, medications, new toiletries and grooming items, personal items (books, family photos, etc.) and electronics like tablets and cell phones. Flowers, vitamins or health foods and "expensive items like jewlery" are not approved.

Donna Johnson, St. Joe's interim executive vice president of clinical operations and chief nursing executive, told CBC News this is the second of four phases to re-integrating visitors. She said the decision to allow visitors back took weeks of discussion with various committees, executives and patients and families.

"We know how important it is for patients and family members to see each other and how difficult this has been," she said. "It was important and necessary that we restrict visitors during the peak of our COVID challenges but now we have provincial direction and it is the right time."

There's no timeline on when the next phase will emerge, but the fourth phase would be "back to normal."

As of Wednesday, HHS has 14 infected patients and St. Joe's has two.

Haldimand hospital to join soon

Patients at Haldimand War Memorial Hospital will also begin to see loved ones onTuesday, June 30. A release from the hospital says families can book appointments to visit between10a.m. to 10:30 am, 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the outdoor patio under the sun room.

The move to allow visitors into hospitals comes five days after Hamilton entered Stage 2 of the province's plan to reopen the economy. Stage 2 allowed for larger gatherings between people and close contact with more people. The Hamilton hospitals recently resumed some surgeries and procedures previously delayed because of COVID-19.

This also follows three months of patients staying and dying in hospitals alone andrelying on video callsto stay in touch with family due to pandemic-era restrictions.

The Hamilton hospital networks banned visitors on March 20 after implementing restricted visiting the week prior.