I think it’s easy to say you’d prefer no visitors if you’re in for an elective operation and out a couple of days later. But the impact of no visitors on people staying in hospital for a long time / dementia patients / people who have received a difficult diagnosis/ people who are unable to advocate for themselves for whatever reason has been horrific and often not at all in their best interest. It can be quite difficult to identify these people with a blanket policy so as to allow visiting when really needed.
I know one woman who had to stay in hospital for 4 weeks before her twins were born and several weeks afterwards while they were ill. She saw her husband once during that time for the birth. He then had to leave. She ended up with very severe pnd- it wrecked her first year with her babies. I’m sure it was exacerbated by the lack of visitors.
I know someone else who was left to look after her newborn alone after a very difficult birth and collapsed on the floor and hit her head when she tried to get up for him. It wouldn’t have happened if her husband had been there and there weren’t enough staff to provide enough support.
I have an elderly relative who won’t go for an operation he needs while he can’t have visitors. He’s scared of hospitals anyway and frightened of being alone and having no one to speak on his behalf while he’s recovering from GA.
That’s just a few examples. There have been so many stories in the press of people dying alone. Any patient with dementia or a similar degenerative condition will deteriorate with no social contact from loved ones. I don’t think that these harms are weighed into it when designing these policies.
And given that hospitals have been one of the places with highest transmission rates it’s hardly like the no visitor policy has been wildly successful.