Epsom Hospital managed to reopen 22 beds yesterday afternoon as it continues to battle an outbreak of the winter vomiting bug, norovirus.

A third of beds at the hospital had been affected with beds either because they contained an infected patient or because their proximity to an affected bed made them unusable as the virus is highly infectious.

Yesterday the number of patients suffering from the virus stood at 31. A total of 59 out of 243 beds remained affected, down from 81 yesterday morning.

Thorough infection control measures have been put in place with patients suffering from the virus being grouped together in wards in an attempt to contain the spread of the bug and these are subject to increased deep cleaning.

The hospital also opened Croft Ward, an ‘escalation ward’, which is only opened when it is under severe pressure for beds.

Despite improvements, the hospital is still urging people not to come into the hospital unless absolutely necessary.

A spokesperson for the hospital said: "Through deep cleaning of the areas affected we are reopening 22 beds today bringing the number of beds affected down to 59 which is a significant improvement. This is good news.

"We have thorough infection control measures in place and have taken steps to diagnose cases of Norovirus early taking immediate steps to prevent it spreading further in the hospital.

"The hospital is open and functioning as normal and it looks like the position is improving, however the guidelines we have put in place continue and we are confident the situation will improve."

The symptoms of a norovirus usually start between 24 and 48 hours after the initial infection but can start after as little as 12 hours, say experts.

The first symptom is usually a sudden onset of nausea, followed by projectile vomiting and watery diarrhoea.

Some people may also have a mild fever, headaches, stomach cramps, or aching limbs.

The hospital has warned anyone suffering from diarrhoea or vomiting not to:

• Come to hospital for a routine appointment - instead, call the number on your appointment letter to reschedule it
• Visit patients at Epsom Hospital - you risk spreading the illness to those who do not have it
• Attend A&E (accident and emergency) unless it is a genuine emergency - speak to your GP first if possible.

Have you been affected? Call the newsdesk on 020 8722 6346 or email lmay@london.newsquest.co.uk