VISITING times at Bath's Royal United Hospital (RUH) are being restricted in a bid to improve infection control and give patients more rest.

From Monday, normal visiting times to all wards will be limited to 2pm-3.30pm and 6pm-8pm daily, including weekends.

As part of the new arrangements a maximum of two visitors per patient will be allowed at any one time and children are only allowed to visit at the discretion of the patient and ward staff.

Francesca Thompson, director of nursing at the RUH, said: "We are bringing in these new visiting arrangements to help us tackle the spread of infections and also to improve the privacy and dignity afforded to our patients.

"Whilst these measures may at first seem restrictive it is important that we focus on the well-being and care of all our patients.

"Having a lot of visitors coming and going on wards can make it difficult for staff to do their jobs effectively."

Hospital management hope the new measures will enable wards to be cleaned thoroughly and reduce the number of people coming and going.

During the visiting hours staff will be making visitors aware of the importance of washing their hands on entering and leaving the wards, and visitors will also be asked not to bring flowers.