Guide for inpatients

If you need to come into hospital and stay for treatment or have an operation the following information should help to tell you about what you will need to bring in with you.

What to bring with you

• any relevant paperwork/ admission letters from GP or hospital
• medication
• next of kin details
• GP name, address and phone number.

Planned admission

If you are being admitted for pre-planned treatment or surgery you should have been informed in your admission letter about what to bring.

Emergency admission

If you or your relative/friend has been admitted as an emergency these are the items likely to be needed in addition to the ‘what to bring’ above:

• nightdress or pyjamas
• underwear
• dressing gown
• toiletries – including toothbrush/paste, soap, razor/shaving foam, hair brush/comb
• towel
• tissues
• slippers
• hearing aid, glasses or dentures if worn
• book/magazines
• writing material
• small amount of cash for hospital shop/ward newsagent trolley
• house keys if not left with a relative/friend.

What not to bring into hospital:

• please do not bring anything of high value or large amounts of money into hospital unless absolutely necessary. If you must bring certain items like pension or cheque books please hand those to your nurse for safekeeping and you will be given an official receipt. Please note: that large amounts of cash handed over for safe keeping will be reimbursed in the form of a cheque and posted to your home address   
• alcohol must not be brought into hospital
• televisions and radios – most wards now have ‘patient line’, a pay-as-you-use bedside TV and telephone. Cards for this can be paid for by cash or credit card.

Non-smoking

Please note that we operate a strict non-smoking policy across all our sites. Visit the NHS smoke-free website or the Buckinghamshire smokescape website for more details.

Leaving hospital

Plans for your discharge will start to be discussed with you and your family early on in your hospital admission to identify what arrangements, if any, need to be made to facilitate this process. When your consultant has decided that you are ready to be discharged a date will be confirmed.

On the day of discharge you should ensure that you are ready to leave your bed by 10am so that it can be made available to another patient.

Transport home

You are responsible for making your own arrangements for getting home unless your healthcare team has advised that hospital transport is required.

Things to remember on going home:

• ensure you have a supply of any medicines prescribed
• that you have been advised about any follow up out patient appointments
• that you have your house keys and any valuables handed over for safekeeping
• ensure that the ward has correct details for your GP to forward a discharge summary
• that your next of kin is aware that you are leaving hospital.

Further help and support

If you are unhappy about any aspect of your care, please speak to the nurse in charge, who will try to resolve matters for you there and then.

If you need further help or advice, you can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) at your hospital. Your views about our services are important to us. Your experiences will help us to improve existing services and influence our future plans. We welcome your comments.

Wheelchair access: All pedestrian entrances are suitable for wheelchairs. There are disabled toilets in key locations around our hospitals.

Sensory impairment: Signers can be arranged to help during your visit. Please call the number on your appointment letter to let us know what help you need. Please give as much notice as possible. Guide dogs may accompany you during your visit, but please give the clinic staff as much notice as possible so they can accommodate this. Please call the number on your admissions letter.

Disabled parking: Parking at all of our hospitals is very limited. Although we do our best to help disabled patients arriving by car. There are parking staff at all of our sites who will be able to direct you