Hospitals ban visitors' flowers

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust fears flowers sitting in dirty water could contribute to diseases and may damage expensive bed-side equipment if spilt.

A Trust spokeswoman said there was no outright ban on flowers but individual wards could ban them.

The move follows a recent ban by Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust on visitors sitting on beds.

'Common sense'

Pat Forsyth, spokeswoman for the trust, which manages St Mary's and Queen Alexandra hospitals, said: "This is all about common sense.

"The water gets smelly and that isn't very healthy. Often the flowers are quite highly pollinated, which can upset other patients."

"Also there's a lot of high-tech equipment, which can be ruined if the vases are knocked over and the vases add to the difficulty of cleaning the bedside area in the fight against infection."

Under new rules in Southampton's hospitals to combat the spread of infections, bedside visitors must sit on chairs and children are only permitted with the ward manager's approval.

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