A hospital has apologised and pledged to review visiting restrictions after it prevented parents from seeing their dying son in his final weeks.
Ollie Bibby, of South Benfleet, Essex, died of leukaemia at University College London Hospital (UCLH) on 5 May.
Mr Bibby’s mother Penny said: “All we want from this is for policies to be reviewed. This has to stop.”
Mrs Bibby said the letter from Tim Jaggard, acting chief executive of UCLH, was a “pleasant surprise” and she hoped it would help other people be with their loved ones in hospital.
“This is the outcome we wanted. We just don’t want any other families to go through this. We feel like Ollie would be proud of us for taking a stand on this,” she said.
She said Mr Jaggard wrote that the hospital was trying “to get the balance right between keeping patients safe and compassion” and was “sorry” if it failed at this.
He also wrote: “I would like to assure you we are reviewing how we implement the national guidance.”
Ollie Bibby’s family described him as a non-materialistic, old-fashioned person with lots of friends and a passion for football.
Her 27-year-old son died the day before Matt Hancock was filmed kissing a colleague, prompting his resignation as health secretary.
Mrs Bibby subsequently said she was “livid” he broke social distancing rules, as she was prevented from being with her son.
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