The time of your admission will be given in your admission letter. Please follow the instructions on your letter, as you may be asked to contact the ward on your admission date to check that a bed is available. In extreme circumstances, where there is no bed available, ward staff will advise you of alternative arrangements.
If you have difficulties keeping your admission date or time, please telephone the number detailed on your admission letter, so that alternative arrangements can be made for you (and to enable us to re-allocate your bed).
On arrival. you should report to the ward sister/charge nurse or the nurse-in-charge at the time. They will arrange for you to be shown to your bed, and tell you who is to be your named nurse (the person responsible for your nursing care throughout your stay).
If you have any special needs or are disabled, and would like additional information or help before you arrive, please contact the ward sister or charge nurse, who can ensure your needs are fully met.
A list of essential and useful items that you may wish to bring with you is available for your information. Please note that storage space on the wards is limited.
When you are unwell, you are more vulnerable to picking up infections. We therefore ask you not to bring in perishable foods, which may be a potential source of food poisoning, as temperature controlled storage is not available at the bedside. The following snacks and drinks can be safely brought into hospital to be left at the patient’s bedside:
If you are prescribed a special diet, please make sure that you only bring in the foods that are recommended by your ward dietician.
Visitors may bring in other foods if they are for immediate consumption, but we would not recommend that these be left in the heated ward environment.
The Catering Department always tries its hardest to provide the food items that patients need. If you have a particular problem, or are unsure about what can be brought in, please discuss this with your ward manager or ward dietician.
Ward staff can only give brief, general reports on your condition to your relatives over the telephone. If your relatives require more detailed information, they should speak to the nurse responsible for your care, who can give them fuller details when they visit, or arrange for them to see one of your doctors, if you so wish.
It would be helpful if your family and friends could organise a communication system amongst themselves to avoid the need for numerous calls to the ward. This can make the telephone lines busy and cause delays, and also takes nursing staff away from their main duty of caring for patients. We will advise close friends and relatives of your general progress unless you specifically request that this information is not shared.
The UHB is a teaching Health Board, and therefore medical students and / or nursing students may be attached to teams looking after you.
These students may accompany the other members of your team on ward rounds, and may also assist in other ways. We hope that you will agree to their learning in this way. If, however, you prefer students not to be present at any time, your wishes will be respected. Student nurses will inevitably be gaining practical experience on your ward, as may other Health Service staff in training. Your understanding and support as they learn would be appreciated.