Patient agreement

You will be admitted to the National Spinal Injuries Centre for the treatment and management of your condition. Your length of stay may be long and we know you may experience difficult and frustrating times, but our aim is to provide the best support and care for you while you are here.

As with any hospital, we must have some rules to allow it to run effectively. We would like to inform you what you can expect from us and what we expect in return, in order that you can achieve your optimum rehabilitation.

Named nurse
You will have a named nurse who will work with you to provide the most appropriate care for your needs. She/he can help with much of the information you need. If you have any problems, it is best to talk to your named nurse in the first instance.

Treatments
Due to the nature of your injury, it is likely that certain procedures will need to be carried out for you on a regular basis. They are called ‘invasive’ procedures because they involve intimate bladder and bowel management. It is unpleasant, but they are essential to keep you in good health. Before these procedures are carried out, it is important that you are fully aware of why the procedure is done, and we need your co-operation and consent to enable us to do this.

Rehabilitation
You will receive a programme of physiotherapy and occupational therapy sessions. The amount of treatment time you will receive shall depend on your individual needs. Normally, shortly after mobilisation you will be allocated a keyworker and become involved with the team in goal planning. Other services include clinical psychology, discharge coordination and patient education.

Conduct
We aim to provide you with an environment without too many rules, but we ask you to take note of the following:

Alcohol is forbidden in the NSIC and on Trust premises.
Possession or consumption of unauthorised/illegal substances is strictly forbidden. Such possession is against the law and the police will be notified of any person found to be in possession. Any unauthorised/illegal substance found in the centre will be confiscated and handed to the police for disposal and the individual will be asked to leave the centre.
The Trust will not tolerate acts of violence and aggression, verbal or racial abuse towards members of staff by patients, relatives or visitors. The Trust may take legal action against anyone who verbally or physically assaults a member of our staff. In the event of inappropriate behaviour, you may find you are transferred to another institution.
Infection control guidelines must be adhered to at all times. Depending on the incidence of infectious conditions within the centre at any one time, you may be nursed either in a single room or in the main ward area. Where on the ward you are nursed will depend on what is most appropriate for you and other patients at the time.

Data protection
Your personal data is protected according to the European and national framework of respective regulations. In an anonymised way, your medical data might be utilised for quality control and for benchmarking purposes, and for retrospective studies, in agreement with the local ethics committee.

Research is of the utmost importance for the future development in the treatment of spinal cord injury. We may, therefore, ask your consent to participate in a prospective research study.

Discharge
In the event of delayed discharge, you may be transferred to your referring hospital or hospital in your own area of residence. Social services may be requested to seek an interim nursing home placement.

Download the National Spinal Injuries Centre patient admissions agreement