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 letter will state the ward, day surgery unit or surgical admissions unit where you will be welcomed 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 hospital maps 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 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.
On the ward
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. Drinking vending machines and payphones may also be located in the dayrooms.
Infection prevention
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.
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 wards 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.
Discharge from hospital
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:
- Provide you with treatment and care
- Look after the health of the general public
- Manage and plan the NHS
- Help us to ensure the care you receive is of the highest standard
- Train and educate our staff
- Undertake research
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