A WINTER diarrhoea and vomiting bug has once again hit Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

Four wards had been hit by the highly infectious norovirus at Worcester’s main hospital in Newtown Road as of yesterday.

The first case was discovered late last week and health chiefs at the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are working to contain the virus, which has already led to the cancellation of some booked, non-emergency operations.

The trust declined to confirm how many patients had contracted the norovirus, which wards were affected within the Royal or how many operations had been cancelled since the first case was confirmed.

So far the two other hospitals managed by the trust – Kidderminster Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch – have not reported a case of the winter bug.

The latest bout of the bug is the third outbreak within Worcestershire’s acute hospitals this year. The first was in January when 45 operations were cancelled and another followed in September which also led to cancelled operations and even the closure of the Alexandra Hospital to visitors on Wednesday, October 1. The closure followed advice from the trust for visitors to steer clear of all three hospitals until the outbreak had passed.

A spokesman for the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, speaking about the most recent outbreak, said: “Visitors are banned from the affected wards to control the infection.

“We’re telling patients they should attend out-patient appointments unless they have been affected by the norovirus.

“They should be clear of symptoms for at least 48 hours before they come in.

“Once again we’re appealing for the help of the general public, visitors and families to help us restrict the infection.”

The trust is asking staff, patients and visitors to make sure they wash their hands regularly at the hospital and keep up-to-date with the situation by visiting the website, worcesacute.nhs.uk