A woman sits at the McMaster University Medical Centre fracture clinic. Photograph from July 2020. Stricter visitor guidelines are now in place at HHS sites.

Visitor guidelines update: December 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, the safety of our patients, families, and staff continues to be our priority.

Although we are not going back to stopping all visits, we need to become stricter. Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) recognizes that caregivers and support persons are essential, and will do our best to include caregivers and support persons throughout the pandemic period.

Help keep our hospitals safe

• Please do not visit at the same time as the other identified caregiver/support person so that there is only one visitor at the patient’s bedside at a time.
• Keep your mask on at all times while in the hospital, even when in the patient’s room, and be sure to keep mouth and nose completely covered.
• Go directly to the room of the patient you are visiting, and when you leave, head directly out of the building. Cafeterias and snack bars are not accessible to patients or essential caregivers.
• Sanitize your hands when entering and exiting the patient’s room.
• Maintain physical distancing of 6 feet apart (2 meters), where possible.
• Do not eat or drink while in the patient’s room.
• Any food brought in for the patient must be individually packaged and not shared. (Microwaves and fridges will not be accessible and leftovers must be taken with you when you leave.)

As you plan your visit, please read the full visitor section of our COVID page to ensure you meet the current family and caregiver presence criteria.

These guidelines are subject to change at any time. This is a challenging time for all of us and it is very important that instructions always be followed and respected.

Please read details about the updated guidelines on the COVID section of our website.

If you have any questions, please contact your care team or Patient Experience at patientexperience@HHSC.CA.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.