You will be advised by your consultant or your nurse when you are able to go home and will be given any post treatment medication to take away with you.
If you are undergoing general anaesthetic or are a day case patient, you should ensure that you arrange to be collected and you remain in the care of a responsible adult for the remainder of the day, or night.
Please be aware that you must not drive a car, ride a bicycle, operate machinery or drink alcohol 24 hours after anaesthetic.
Follow up care
If you need to see your consultant again following your discharge, an out-patient appointment will be made before you leave or you will be notified of your appointment as soon as possible after your discharge.
Following you discharge if you have any concerns, questions or are in need of advice please telephone the hospital and speak to the senior nurse on duty.
Settling your account
Insured patients
If you are covered by private medical insurance, it is important that you tell your insurers of the proposed admission date and treatment necessary. Some insurance companies require a claim form to be completed by both yourself and either your GP or specialist (Consultant). Wherever possible this should be completed and returned prior to your admission. In the case of company cover, a claim form signed by your company’s representative is also required.
Hospitals are unable to provide advance details of the Anaesthetist who will be attending for your operation. All insurance companies including BUPA are fully aware of this, and therefore will only confirm to patients that they will pay the benefit maximum for Anaesthetists. In the unlikely event that any Anaesthetist does not work within insurance company guidelines, the insurance companies have informed us that any difference in cost would be minimal to the patient. For further information please contact your insurance company.
There will usually be three invoices:
- Hospital charges
- Consultant Surgeon or Physician fees (unless your hospital charges on behalf of the Consultant)
- Consultant Anaesthetist fees
There may be additional invoices from other Consultants or Pathology services relating to your care. These invoices will normally be sent directly to your insurance company. However some Consultant Surgeons and Consultant Anaesthetists are self accounting. This means they may send their invoice direct to your home address. Please forward these to your insurer.
All charges are pre-agreed with your insurance company and therefore copy invoices are not normally sent to you by the hospital.
Uninsured and fixed cost care patients
If you are paying for your treatment yourself, or are undertaking treatment under our Fixed Cost Care scheme, you will have been informed beforehand which procedures and services are included in the price. Please be aware that some pre-admission tests and pre and post operative consultations may not be included. You will be expected to settle your account before admission. Where it is not possible to provide a guideline price or a Fixed Cost Care Package, and where we are unable to estimate exactly the treatment, a deposit will be required prior to admission. You (or your representative) will be kept regularly informed on costs incurred and further payments on account will be required, if necessary.
Overseas insurers
Most overseas insurance companies expect patients to settle accounts on admission and to reclaim the costs at a later date. We will, therefore, ask for payment on admission to the hospital although special arrangements can sometimes be made on request.
Personal charges
Most hospitals will expect you to settle your account for personal charges (telephone calls, visitor’s meals and newspapers etc) on discharge. If this is not the case an invoice will be forwarded to you for payment.
Follow-up care
If you need to see your Consultant again following your discharge, an outpatient appointment will be made before you leave or you will be notified of your appointment as soon as possible after your discharge. Following your discharge, if you have any concerns or questions or are in need of advice, please telephone the hospital and speak to the senior nurse on duty.
For performance information about Ramsay Health Care facilities please go to the Care Quality Commission website: www.cqc.org.uk.
To review the latest patient satisfaction results for Ramsay Health Care carried out by The Leadership Factor go to: www.ramsayfeedback.com.
