Staying with us?

Information for inpatients

Before you are admitted to hospital

Pre-assessment clinic

Before coming to hospital you may be asked to attend a pre-assessment clinic. You will receive a letter informing you where your assessment will take place one to three weeks before you come into hospital. You will see a pre-assessment nurse or doctor who will assess that you are medically fit for your procedure. As part of the assessment, the nurse will carry out investigations necessary for you to have your procedure. It is likely that you will be swabbed for MRSA, you may have blood tests, a tracing of your heart or x-rays depending on your general health. You may also see other members of the team to ensure you are fully prepared for your admission and discharge. You will also have the opportunity of discussing your operation/procedure with the pre-assessment nurse or doctor.

Please bring any current medication including herbal remedies and inhalers with you to this appointment and the nurse will tell you if any medications need to be stopped before your admission. We have an obligation to offer all our patients the earliest possible date for their procedure and ensure that all our available resources are utilised efficiently. Therefore an admission date may be offered to you at any of the hospitals within the Trust.

If you cancel your pre-assessment appointment or admission date in advance, we will arrange a new one with you. If you cancel or decline three offers we will refer you back to your GP as you must be 'ready, willing and fit' to be on the waiting list. If you do not attend your appointment/admission without telling us, we will refer you back to your GP. If either you, or the hospital, cancel your procedure on the day of admission, we will try to make a new appointment for you within the next 28 days.

It is very important to notify the hospital if you wish to change or cancel your admission so your bed and/or theatre session can be used for someone else. Please telephone the relevant waiting list department listed below as soon as possible prior to your admission date.

Specific requirements

If you have specific needs such as a disability, sight or hearing impairment, dietary, speech impairment, or cultural requirements and are anxious about the facilities available during your stay, please inform the nurse at the pre-assessment clinic. The nurse, at your request, will make a note of these needs. The note will use the wording of your choice and will help us to make arrangements for your admission to hospital.

For people with hearing or speech difficulties, minicom text telephones are available at Lincoln County Hospital and Pilgrim Hospital, Boston. Minicom text telephones can also be used to ring out. Please ask for further details.

Pilgrim Hospital, Boston (01205) 365685
Lincoln County Hospital (01522) 573618

Wheelchairs are available, if required, but you are welcome to bring your own wheelchair, or any equipment that you require. Please ensure you label your own equipment.

Language Line telephone interpreters are available. In some circumstances it will be necessary to use face to face interpreters. As this may take a number of days to arrange, it may not be possible to so in an emergency. It is our responsibility to provide an interpreter for you, so you should not feel under pressure for one of your family, or friends, to interpret on your behalf. In some instances, such as with children, medical staff will only use registered interpreters when making assessments or discussing treatment.

Ambulance transport

Hospitals and some GPs authorise and make ambulance transport bookings for patients who meet the eligibility criteria set by the local hospital or treatment centre and where alternative forms of transport cannot be used (i.e. public transport, taxi or transport provided by relatives or friends). If you have a medical need for transport, it will be provided by East Midlands Ambulance Service. This might be in one of their volunteer cars, and not necessarily an ambulance. The transport most appropriate to your needs will be supplied. Please do not bring anyone with you in the ambulance unless this has been agreed in advance.

Please bring with you any medication that you may need during the journey or whilst in hospital. Diabetics should ensure that they have food with them in case of any delay. We are unable to say exactly what time the ambulance will call for you.

Ambulance journeys start at around 8am for morning appointments and around 12noon for afternoon appointments. You should be ready to be collected FROM the times above and not AT these times. If it does start to get quite late in relation to your appointment time and the ambulance has not arrived, please contact the department from which the booking was made. Someone there will make an enquiry for you.

Ambulance liaison offices:

Boston (01205) 446483 Grantham (01476) 464373
Lincoln (01522) 573067 Grimsby (01472) 875200
(Please note these numbers are for enquiries or for cancellation of pre-booked transport)

About your admission

Where to report to

Please check your letter and/or any patient information carefully prior to your admission for any special requirements such as stopping certain medications, fasting and other preparations.

Your surgery letter will state the ward area, day surgery unit or surgical admissions unit where you will be welcomed and received by a member of staff. A map of the hospital site is available so please ask a member of staff. Maps of each of our hospitals can also be found on the How to find us page.

We ask you to have a bath or shower on the day of your admission (do not use talc, deodorant, body lotion or creams) to reduce the risk of infection. Patients should not wear makeup or nail varnish and we advise patients to remove any jewellery.

If you are being admitted for day surgery, you will need to organise your own transport arrangements to and from hospital. Although you may arrive by bus, car or taxi, it will be necessary for you to be collected by a relative or friend. Driving home against hospital advice may affect your insurance policy.

What to bring with you

The following is a useful checklist.

Money and valuables

Please do not bring valuables or large sums of money in with you. We regret that we cannot accept liability for money/valuables which are not handed in for safekeeping.

Medicines

Please bring with you any medicines which you are taking or using, show these to the ward staff.

Many wards operate a "self-medication" system whereby you keep and continue to take your own medicines.

During your stay

On each ward the ward sister or charge nurse has overall responsibility for the ward. Registered nurses and healthcare support workers assist them.

Your nurse will be responsible for planning your care and discharge with you and your family/carer. When this nurse is not on duty your care will be provided by other members of the team. You are entitled to have a chaperone present when you are being examined. If you are not offered one then please ask.

You may also encounter other members of the health care team such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, speech and language therapists and pharmacists.

Health and safety

The hospital has a duty to create, as far as possible, a safe environment for everyone, but individuals have a personal responsibility not to behave in a way which could cause danger to themselves or others.

If you do have an accident, please report it to the nurse in charge.

Wristbands

When you are admitted you will be given a wristband. This will include all essential information about you that staff need to identify you and give you the right care. It is essential that you wear this throughout your stay.

If your wristband becomes uncomfortable or falls off, please tell a member of staff who will get you a new one. If you are not given a wristband when you are admitted, please ask a member of staff for one.

Ward dayrooms

Dayrooms and/or quiet rooms away from the busy ward area are provided on some wards. These facilities are to enhance your relaxation and comfort during your stay in hospital. Visitors are welcome but are requested to respect the need for patients' privacy and comfort. Beverage vending machines and payphones may also be located in the dayrooms.

Meals

Full details of the catering service can be found in a booklet by the bedside. Most special diets can be catered for, so please check with ward staff if you find there is nothing to meet your dietary needs. Each ward has a large print and pictorial menu available for patients.

We have a protected mealtime on all wards when all activities on the ward will stop. If you normally visit at mealtimes in order to help your relative to eat or just to give encouragement we are happy for you to continue to do this. Please ask the nurse in charge how you can help out.

Infection prevention

We have a very good record with infection control and are recognised as having some of the lowest rates of infections such as clostridium difficile and MRSA in the country.

Most infections can be prevented from spreading by ensuring that good hand cleansing takes place. All hospital staff, patients and visitors should use the hand rub available on the ward when they enter and exit. Disinfection of hands using soap and water should also take place again before handling food or drink and after visiting the toilet.

You should expect each member of staff dealing with you to clean their hands before and after touching you. If you do not see a member of staff cleaning their hands you have the right to challenge them and ask them if they have done so. You should also challenge any member of staff who has clothing with long sleeves.

Patients who are admitted to our hospitals for care or a procedure can expect to be tested for MRSA and to receive appropriate care and treatment if they are identified as having an MRSA infection.

Telephone enquiries

Your next of kin can telephone directly to the ward to ask about your progress. It is helpful if this person can keep other relatives and friends informed as other members of the family and friends may be refused any information due to confidentiality.

Consent

If you are going to have an operation or examination you may be asked to sign a consent form.

You should only give your consent if you fully understand what is going to happen to you. Please ask if there is anything you do not understand.

If you are coming in for an operation, a doctor and an anaesthetist will usually visit you on the ward before your operation.

Visiting

Visiting times can be found on the Ward visiting times page.

Keeping in touch

In order to protect patient privacy and dignity and to ensure mobile phones are used safely, mobile phones and mobile communication devices are allowed in public areas and dayrooms within wards. Mobiles may also be allowed at the bedside at the sister's/ charge nurse's discretion. The use of cameras and camera-enabled mobile phones and devices is strictly prohibited.

Mail is delivered to the wards each day and it helps if you ask friends and relatives to include your full name and ward on the address and also a return address. Letters may be given to the ward staff for posting.

Hospedia

Each bed has an individual Hospedia console that offers facilities to make phone calls, watch TV, use the internet and listen to the radio. A charge is made for most of the facilities although the radio can be used free of charge.

The system is run independently of the Trust and all enquiries should be directed to the Hospedia customer care team on 0845 414 1234.

Same sex accommodation

Patients have the right to be cared for in same sex accommodation, either in a same sex ward or in a bay area within a larger ward which is shared with members of the same sex, unless there is a clear clinical reason that this is not possible.

Many of the wards in our hospitals accommodate both male and female patients. These ward have same sex bays and access to same sex toilets and bathroom facilities so your privacy can be maintained. The ward staff will be able to show you which facilities are available for you on the ward.

If you have any concerns about being cared for on a mixed sex ward please speak to a member of the nursing team.

Your information and the NHS

During the course of your inpatient care you will be asked for information about yourself. This information may be held within your clinical notes or on computers. We will use this information to:

Everyone working within or for the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust and the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential. When information about you is shared, those receiving information from us are also under a legal duty for it to remain confidential.

If you would like a copy of your health records please ask the ward staff who will arrange this for you. Alternatively please contact the data protection officers on the relevant hospital site, this can be done via the switchboards. There may be a charge for this.

All information held on computers within our Trust is treated in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.