Patients should be allowed visitors as an "absolute priority" hospitals have been told.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he expected the message will be “sent loud and clear” to all trusts after he raised it with the chief executive of the NHS.
He also faced calls to put in law people’s right to visit loved ones in care homes and hospitals.
He made the call following a report of a 90-year-old man who had been unable to visit his wife for weeks after she was admitted to hospital - despite neither of them having coronavirus.
Speaking in the Commons, Conservative MP Lia Nici (Great Grimsby) said: “I have a 90-year-old constituent who has a wife of 65 years and he has been prevented going to see his 89-year-old wife, and it took my intervention after 20 days of him being prevented from seeing her, from him being able to get into the hospital, neither of whom have Covid.
“Could (Mr Javid) please instruct health trusts that as we reduce our Covid incidents in hospitals, that family members must be allowed to go and see their family members in hospital?”
Mr Javid replied: “I am very sorry to hear about what happened to (her) constituent.
“It cannot be right that people are unable to visit their loved ones whilst they are in hospital and it should not require the intervention of an MP to do so.
“So, allowing such visits should be an absolute priority in every trust and I’ve recently raised this issue with the chief executive of the NHS and she has assured me that this message will be sent loud and clear to all NHS trusts.”
Labour MP Dan Carden (Liverpool Walton) added: “The Secretary of State has introduced guidance for essential caregivers so that family members can visit loved ones in care homes.
“I wonder is he considering going further to guarantee the right to visit residents in care homes and patients in hospitals?”
Health minister Gillian Keegan replied: “It is important that people get the right to visit their loved ones in care homes.
“That’s why we’ve introduced guidance which says essential caregivers at all points – even during outbreaks – should get access to the care homes.”
Ms Keegan said the Care Quality Commission manages a process to enable people to report those homes which do not comply with this.
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