Preparing for admission
Medication
The clinical staff at your Treatment Centre will need to
know about any drugs or medication you are currently taking,
including any herbal/complementary medications, which should be
recorded on your pre-admission questionnaire. You should bring your
medication with you and our nursing staff will provide a receipt on
admission.
All medication should be individually packaged and clearly
labelled. Any regular blood pressure and/or heart medications
should be taken as they would normally, on the day of treatment,
with a small amount of water. If you are taking any anticoagulant
medications e.g. Warfarin or Aspirin please contact the Treatment
Centre for advice on how to manage these.
Your Consultant will advise you whether any other medication you
routinely take should be stopped and when you are to start
again.
Please contact your local treatment centre if you have
any any doubt over this.
Valuables
We ask that you do not bring valuables or large sums of money
with you into a Treatment Centre. Limited valuables e.g.
wallet, watch etc. can be locked away for you. If you are being
admitted as an Inpatient either a small safe or a locked drawer is
provided in each room. Please note that the Treatment Centre cannot
accept any responsibility for your valuables.
Children
Our Treatment Centres encourage patients to have visitors
including children.
We ask that for everybody’s benefit, all children are supervised
by an adult at all times.
We do not currently provide crèche facilities, so please ask
relatives and visitors to bear this in mind before they arrive.
Mobile phones and electrical equipment
Mobile phones are not permitted in any of the Treatment
Centres, as they can interfere with the sensitive medical
equipment. If you wish to bring personal electrical equipment with
you, please inform the nurse on admission who will ensure that it
receives the necessary safety checks.
Transport
You will need to organise transport to the Treatment Centre
before and after surgery. We recommend that you arrange for close
family or friends to collect you following your procedure rather
than the local taxi service. If you are eligible for hospital
transport please contact the Treatment Centre you are
visiting.
Parking
It is recommended that you do not leave your car for the
duration of your hospital stay. It is requested that patients
arrange to be dropped off at the hospital and collected again on
departure.
Disabled access
The Treatment Centre has designated parking spaces for ‘Blue
Badge’ holders. The hospital entrances and exits have been designed
to enable easy access for wheelchairs.
Pain management
The Treatment Centre will provide you with pain relief tablets
to take home if you do not have any.
What to bring for your treatment
If you are visiting as a Daycase patient or an Inpatient, there
are a number of items you will want to bring with you. You will
need pyjamas or a night-dress, dressing gown and slippers and
should bring your own personal toiletries, although items such as
towels will be provided.
If you are staying for a few days or longer, you may prefer to
bring casual clothing to wear towards the end of your recuperation.
Patients undergoing hip or knee surgery are advised to bring
shorts, a loose skirt, trousers or a track-suit, together with
comfortable shoes to wear during post-operative physiotherapy.
You may also wish to bring books or magazines. Any medication
brought in must be in its original packaging.