Patients

Information for inpatients

Confirming your admission date

Before you come to the hospital, please confirm that a bed is available for you. Please read the instructions on your admission letter carefully to find out when and who you should call. We will do everything possible to make sure your admission date does not change. Very occasionally, an emergency admission might need to be given priority.

If you have any special needs, please also telephone the number on your admission letter. These might include:

• washing requirements
• special diets
• praying facilities
• support needs for a learning, physical or sensory disability.

Reasonable adjustments will be made to meet your needs.

What if I cannot make my admission date?

If you cannot make your admission date, please telephone the number on your admission letter straight away. We can rearrange your appointment and arrange for someone else to come into hospital.

Please call the number on your admission letter if you think you may have been exposed to an infection (such as chicken pox) or develop any of the following symptoms in the three days before your admission date:

• cough
• diarrhoea
• cold
• vomiting
• raised body temperature.

What should I bring to hospital?

You will not need many clothes or personal belongings during your stay.

Before you leave home, please check that you have packed the following:

• your admission letter, and any other information we have sent you
• your NHS number (it should be on your NHS card or any letter from your GP)
• all medications you take or use. This includes prescription medications, medicines you have bought, and alternative medicines such as herbal remedies
• some money in case you want to buy a newspaper, or use the telephone or bedside entertainment system
• the name, address and postcode of your GP
• nightclothes, dressing gown and slippers
• day clothes – a tracksuit or other comfortable clothes
• glasses or contact lenses
• hearing aid
• any mobility aids you use; for example, a walking stick or frame
• toiletries (for example soap, flannel, toothbrush, toothpaste, towel)
• things to pass the time such as books, magazines, paper and pens.

Please do not bring:

• jewellery or other valuables
• large bags or suitcases (due to limited storage space)
• alcohol
• illegal drugs.

Don’t forget to:

• cancel any deliveries at home; for example, milk or newspapers
• cancel any home services you have
• arrange for any pets to be cared for
• tell your friends and family you are going into hospital
• remove any nail polish and false nails
• remove body piercings where possible

• it may be possible to tape over any that are not in the immediate area being operated on
• tongue piercings must always be removed for patients having a general anaesthetic.
• have a bath or shower just before you come in to hospital (this is important for hygiene before surgery or treatment)

What about my valuables?

Please do not bring valuables such as jewellery or large sums of money into hospital. We cannot accept liability for lost or stolen property or money that is not handed in for safekeeping. If you must bring valuables with you, you should hand them to your nurse when you arrive. We can then arrange for safekeeping in the cashier’s office. You will need to sign a receipt for your valuables. Please note, the cashiers will return cash amounts over £300 by cheque.

What if I need help or support?

Please call the number on your letter if there is anything more we can do to meet your needs for your appointment or admission.

If you know someone with a learning disability who is coming into hospital or has an appointment please contact the consultant nurse for learning disabilities on 020 8672 1255 extension 2217 or bleep 8386.

If you need a language interpreter, please ask someone who speaks English to call the telephone number on the top of your appointment letter.

Signers can be arranged to help you during your visit. Please call the number on your letter to let us know what help you need. Please give us as much notice as possible.

Finding your ward

• Please go straight to the ward shown in your admission letter
• In the main entrance (Grosvenor Wing) there is a ward list which will help you find your way
• When you arrive at the wing, you will see the indicator board by the lifts. This will tell you on which floor your ward is located. The exception is Knightsbridge Wing where wards and departments are signposted along the corridor
• If you are not sure where to go, please ask for directions at the Information Desk in the main entrance
• If you arrive by ambulance, please ask to go to the Patient Transport Office, opposite the reception Desk in the main entrance, where we can arrange for you to be taken to your ward

Will I be on a single sex or mixed sex ward?

Every patient has the right to receive high quality care that is safe, effective and respects their privacy and dignity. Our patients should not normally have to share sleeping accommodation or washing and toilet facilities with members of the opposite sex. This applies to all areas of hospital care, but on some occasions we might need to make an exception (for example, for some emergency admissions and in critical care). The Department of Health has very clear guidelines about this that we follow closely. To find out more about these guidelines, visit www.dh.gov.uk

Children

Children will be cared for on wards appropriate for their stage and development. This can be agreed depending on the needs of the individual patient.

Meals

Meals are usually served on the wards around the following times:

• Breakfast from 08:00
• Lunch 12:00
• Dinner 18:00

Hospital staff

• The hospital and wards can be busy places, but all our staff are identifiable by their name badges
• The team of doctors is lead by a consultant who will oversee your care in ward rounds (usually weekly). Members of the medical team will visit the ward daily to monitor your progress
• The nursing team is lead by the matron
• The ward sister or charge nurse is responsible for the day to day management of the ward
• You will have a qualified named nurse who will coordinate your care, though you may not see them everyday
• Other nurses and healthcare assistants make up the team
• Other members of the healthcare team include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, dietitians and many more
• St George's Healthcare is a teaching hospital so you will probably meet trainee staff and medical, nursing and therapy students. Please say if you do not want them present or tell your nurse. This will not affect your care or treatment at all

Information about you

When you are a patient, we ask you for information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. We take the confidentiality of your information extremely seriously. If you want to know more about how we use your information, please look on our website at the address below or ask for a copy of Your Information – what you need to know

Consenting to treatment

We want to make sure that you fully understand your condition and the treatment choices available to you. Before you receive any treatment your doctor, nurse, therapist or pharmacist can help you:

• understand what the treatment is and how long you need to use it
• understand the benefits of the treatment
• manage any side effects
• talk about your worries about your treatment or medicines.

If you decide not to have a treatment or take a medicine, tell your doctor or pharmacist. They can support you and explain how this could affect you.

Treatment will not be carried out without your consent unless it is an emergency and you are unconscious.

Safety information

Smoking is not permitted in any buildings or grounds owned by St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust.

Help and advice are available to smokers who attend St George's Healthcare. The hospital buildings and grounds are smoke free. We offer nicotine replacement therapy to inpatients who smoke and will encourage continued abstinence from smoking by referring smokers to their local NHS Stop Smoking Service on discharge from hospital.

Smoking increases the risk of complications for patients undergoing surgery, both from an anaesthetic risk and post-operative complications. Additionally delayed wound and bone healing often lead to longer periods in hospital. To have the greatest chance of reducing these risks, we recommend that patients stop smoking as soon as possible prior to surgery.

For more information about help and support to quit smoking:

• www.smokefree.nhs.uk
• www.quit.org
• NHS Smoking Helpline: 0800 022 4 332
• Quitline: 0800 00 22 00.

If you hear a fire alarm, please follow the instructions of the staff. Green signs show the way to fire exits.

Mobile phones can interfere with sensitive equipment in some areas of the hospital – please look out for the signs. Please also be considerate and switch them off or on silent while you are in the clinics and wards. Please do not use camera phones in the hospital.

Aggression - we have a zero tolerance policy. This means that violence and aggression is not acceptable to patients, visitors or staff.

Where can I get spiritual support?

Chaplains offer spiritual, sacramental and pastoral care to patients and their relatives and friends of any religious faith (or no particular faith). There is a chapel and a multi-faith prayer room on the ground floor of the St James Wing available for all to use for prayer and quiet reflection at any time. You can ask a nurse to contact the chaplaincy team for you or call 020 8725 3285.

Thinking about leaving hospital

When it is time for you to leave hospital, the nurse will talk to you and your family about any special arrangements. You may have been on a home visit with an occupational therapist and you may need some help once you are at home. If any services or equipment have been arranged for you, we will have discussed this with you in detail.

Any tablets that you brought into hospital will be returned to you, providing the doctors feel that you should carry on taking them. If you need any new medicines you will be given a small supply to take home. Please see your GP to arrange further prescriptions before these run out.

Please make sure you take all of your property with you. If any money or valuables are being stored, we will return this to you before you go home.

If your have a medical condition that means you need hospital transport, your nurse will arrange this for you. If you need an ambulance, you may first travel from your ward to our transport departure lounge.

Visiting

Visitors are welcome, but it is also very important to the health and recovery of patients that they have plenty of time to rest. Therefore we ask that friends and family take note of the visiting times on wards. These are usually 15.00 to 20.00 hours though this can vary between wards. Most wards also have protected mealtimes to allow patients to eat their meals without disruption. Visiting may not be allowed during these times unless the patient requires help with feeding. Please speak to the ward manager if your visitors have difficulty with these times. Due to limited space most wards keep the number of visitors to two per patient at any one time.

You can receive telephone calls as an inpatient. Your relatives and friends can either:

• call the Trust switchboard on 020 8672 1255 and ask for the name of the ward
• call the ward once you know the direct dial number (please check with the ward staff about the best time to ring)
• call your bedside terminal which includes a telephone (please note this will show on their phone bill as a premium rate).

To receive cards and letters please advise your relatives and friends that the postal address will be:

Patient Name
Ward
Wing
St George’s Hospital
Blackshaw Road
Tooting
London SW17 0QT

The sender should put their own name and address on the back of the envelope, in case you leave hospital before the letter arrives.

Please note that flowers and plants may not be allowed on some wards for infection control or general housekeeping reasons.

For more information or to book a room, please call the number on your admission letter.

Ronald McDonald House

Ronald McDonald House provides free ‘home away from home’ accommodation and caring support for the families of critically ill children being treated at St George’s Healthcare. Ronald McDonald House Charities is an independent charity; their aim is to enable families to maintain a degree of normal family life and stay close to their child.

For further information please email jeanette.hill@uk.mcd.com or phone 020 8682 7625

Copyright ©2013 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust.