Keeping our patients safe from RSV - advice for those visiting Forté Hospital

Visitors and patients at Forté Hospital are being asked to be extra vigilant to prevent the spread of a serious winter virus that’s making Kiwi kids sick.

RSV is a common winter virus that is easily infectious and can pass from person to person with coughing or sneezing. While most adults and older children with RSV will have symptoms similar to the common cold, babies – particularly newborns – can become very unwell.  The virus can cause bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small breathing tubes of the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lung) and can require hospitalisation.

Older adults, people with compromised immune systems and those with heart or lung conditions are also more at risk from RSV.

Like COVID-19, RSV is a respiratory illness. To protect our community we ask all patients and visitors to Forté Health to follow the below advice:

• If you have respiratory symptoms such as a cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, head cold or loss of smell, with or without fever, stay at home and call your doctor or Healthline (for free) on 0800 358 5453 to see if you need a test for COVID-19.
  
• If you are unwell please do not visit a patient or child at Forté Health.
  
• If you are unwell and have upcoming surgery please contact your surgeon’s rooms directly or call Forté Health on 03 365 8333.

Additional screening procedures remain in place at Forté Hospital to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For details about those requirements for patients and visitors please click here.

We thank you for your support – together we can keep our community safe and well.