Rothschild Ward welcome letter – Postnatal

Welcome to Rothschild Ward and congratulations on the birth of your baby

We are here to support you. We want your stay with us to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

Rothschild Ward is our antenatal and postnatal ward. We have shared bays and private rooms. If you would like a private room please speak to your midwife
about whether this is available and appropriate for you. Your care will be the same as in a normal bay, there will be a charge for this.

How long you stay with us and the type of care that you receive will depend on your personalised care and support plan.

If you don’t yet have a personalised care and support plan you can complete it on the Mum & Baby App on Google Play or the App sStore and then share it with
the team providing your care.

If you would like to discuss this at any time, please speak to your midwife.

Going home

Sometimes the discharge process can seem lengthy. Please rest assured we do everything we can to make it as smooth as possible.

We know that you may want to go home as soon as possible. Our job is to make sure that you and your baby are well and can safely go home. As well as the daily checks by the midwife of your physical and emotional wellbeing, there are other important processes that we need to follow:

Staff on the ward

You will have a named midwife assigned to your care every day and night who you can ask any questions you may have.

You will also see our obstetric doctors, paediatricians, student midwives, nursery nurses, infant feeding support workers, pharmacists, maternity care assistants and housekeeping staff on the ward.

All staff caring for you or your baby will introduce themselves to you and will be wearing an ID badge. If you need help with anything you can come to the desk or press your bedside call bell.

Security & Privacy

The ward is secure and entry and exit is controlled by the staff. Please do not allow anyone to ‘tailgate’ in or out of the ward after you. Do not open the door for anyone to enter the ward. Please keep your valuables safe as we cannot take any responsibility for the loss of any such items.

We take your privacy and confidentiality very seriously. We cannot give information about you to anyone else so please ask friends and family not to call the ward directly. If you want information shared with friends or family members, you will need to do so.

If you need a private space to speak to a midwife or member of staff in confidence one will be made available to you, please just ask.

Personal belongings

Please ensure your belongings are stored in your bedside locker. The area around beds needs to be clutter-free to keep everyone safe, ensure all staff can move freely around your bed when caring for you and your baby and ensure we can keep the ward clean to the highest possible standard.

Please feel free to use your mobile phone on the ward, but do be considerate to others while you do so.

Visiting

Your nominated support person can visit between 9am and 9pm. Currently no other visiting or overnight stays are permitted.

Mealtimes

There are 3 meals a day are served: at 8am, midday and early evening. We can cater to most dietary requirements so please let the catering staff know if you have such requirements. Someone will come and take your order in enough time before the next scheduled meal. A hot drinks machine is available throughout the day and night. If you need to know where this is please ask any member of staff. Your allocated support person can bring extra food and drinks for you if you wish. If you arrive on the ward after the evening meal has already been served, we can order you a hot meal if required, please just ask.

Wifi

If you wish to use wifi, please choose ‘bht_public’

Toilets and Showers

There are toilets and showers in the bays and corridors. If it is not obvious where your nearest facility is please just ask. These facilities are for women staying on the ward only. Visitors toilets are outside the ward.

Before you go home

Make sure you have the name and contact number of your community midwife and team. Your ward midwife can find it for you if you don’t know it. If you are going home to a different address – for example to stay with a relative, you must let us know so we can make sure you receive postnatal community care.

Who can I talk to if I have questions or concerns?

Speak to your named midwife first of all. We are all here to help you. If you feel you need to you can also ask to speak to the ward manager or matron if you wish.
Where can I find more information about postnatal care? Information and leaflets are available on our website (www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk), the NHS choices website (www.nhs.uk) and on the Mum & Baby App.

How can I help reduce healthcare associated infections?

Infection prevention and control is important to the well-being of our patients and for that reason we have infection prevention & control procedures in place. Keeping your hands clean is an effective way of preventing the spread of infections. We ask that you, and anyone visiting you, use the hand sanitiser available at the entrance to every ward before coming in to and after leaving the ward. In some situations hands may need to be washed at the sink using soap and water rather than using the hand sanitiser as hand sanitisers are not suitable for use when dealing with patients who have symptoms of diarrhoea.

If you would like a copy of this information on audiotape, in large print or translated, please call the Patient Advice Liaison Service on 01296 831120 or email bht.pals@nhs.net

Please remember that this leaflet is intended as general information only. We aim to make the information as up to date and accurate as possible, but please note that it is subject to change.