To enhance our steps to keep staff safe, we will now encourage patients to wear a surgical mask during interactions with staff, e.g. during ward round or physical examination/history taking/nursing care etc. This will not apply to patients using oxygen supplementation etc, or to patients who cannot tolerate it, either for physical or psychological reasons.
We will provide patients with surgical masks at their bedside.
You may have been admitted as an emergency, or you have had your treatment booked in advance. Whatever the case, hospital life is very different from life at home and it is natural for you to feel nervous at first. Please try not to worry as we will do everything we can to help. If you have any questions or worries, please ask your ward Sister/Charge Nurse or any member of staff involved in your care.
Click on the following link to download and read our new guide: 'Welcome guide for patients, family and carers'.
It is a new guide full of useful information for inpatients staying in hospital for one or more nights.
An accessible version of this guide is available on our website: https://elht.nhs.uk/patients/inpatient-guide/welcome-guide-patients-family-and-carers
Everyone working in the NHS has a legal duty to keep all information about you confidential. If you agree, your relatives, friends and carers will be kept up to date with the progress of your treatment. If you do not agree, please inform the ward staff on arrival on the ward. If you require to inspect your medical records, please speak to the Ward Sister/Charge Nurse.
While you are in hospital, keeping you safe and well is a priority for the staff looking after you. There are also some simple things you can do to help keep yourself safe during your hospital stay, such as asking for help when needed, protecting yourself from slips and falls and helping to prevent blood clots.
The NHS England National Patient Safety Team has provided tips on keeping yourself safe during your hospital stay which you can see here.
Guide dogs are welcome to accompany visitors on most occasions, but there may be certain wards where, due to the nature of the patients, guide dogs cannot visit. Please ring the ward before you make your journey.
The Trust operates a smokefree policy which applies to all buildings and grounds. We understand the difficulties experienced by many smokers when refraining from smoking even for a short time so to make your hospital stay more comfortable and to avoid nicotine cravings, we recommend you bring Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) with you on admission. Emergency admissions will be provided with a limited supply from the Trust.
During your stay in hospital you will meet many staff who will help you with your progress. It would be impossible to train future members of the health profession without your help and cooperation.
This is a hospital where such staff are trained and patients, therefore, play a very important part in teaching work.
To find out what additional facilities are available at the site you will be attending please click on the relevant location:
To help relieve the boredom of hospital stays, keep in touch with loved-ones and improve your overall experience of the health service, patients can choose to have their own personal television and telephone at their bedside.
With the bedside units, you have access to a variety of paid and free services directly to your hospital bed.
Free services
Premium entertainment
This includes:
You can buy these services via your credit or debit card directly at the bedside, or by ringing our 24 hour call center from your bedside phone. Simply pick up the phone and press ‘customer care’ on the phone screen.
A relative/friend can also buy one for you. Simply call 0345 414 1234 and provide them with the patient's name, date of birth, bedside location within the hospital, and the bedside telephone number (starts with 087).
Note that longer day passes work out cheaper. E.g. TV for one day is £7.90. Compared to TV for seven days being £34.90 which works out to £4.99 per day.
These Hospedia Bedside Units are under the leadership of WiFi SPARK. For more information on these Bedside Units, visit our Support Page.
From admission to hospital, staff will talk with you about any arrangements to be made in order to guarantee you a safe and satisfactory return home.
Following your hospital treatment, your care may need to continue at home and will then be provided by a range of community services. This will be arranged before you leave hospital