An outbreak of the winter vomiting bug has forced the closure of wards in two Belfast hospitals.
The virus, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, has forced the City Hospital to close two wards. Twenty patients in the hospital are understood to have contracted the bug.
A smaller number of patients in the Royal Hospital have also been affected. The virus is not normally life threatening.
Patricia McKeown of the trade union Unison commended hospital staff for containing the virus but said the incidents highlighted the need for greater focus on front-line services.
"The truth is we don't have the staffing levels, resources and monitoring in place to deal with these" she said.
Sinn Fein and the Alliance Party echoed the staffing concern saying more staff were needed to hospitals clean.
Carmel Hanna, health spokeswoman for the SDLP, said simple precautions by the whole community could stop the spread of infections.
"Staff and patients need to step up hand-washing, but it is particularly important that visitors should neither bring the bug into a hospital nor bring it back out again," she said.
But Dr Tony Stevens, medical director of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, said the outbreak could not be blamed on hygiene standards.
"This is quite a common bug at this time of year. Vomiting and diarrhoea is very uncomfortable but the bug is not dangerous and patients will normally recover within 48 hours," he said.
PA
