Coming in for a hospital stay
If you are due to come into Kingston Hospital for a procedure that requires you to stay in overnight, the information below will help you to prepare.
Please contact your Ward if you need any more information or have any questions.
Your admission
Where to go when you arrive at the hospital
If you are uncertain about when to come in, or where to go, please telephone the contact number on your admission letter.
You may be invited to attend a pre-assessment clinic. At the clinic you will have the opportunity to discuss your needs and some investigations may be carried out to make sure that you are ready for admission.
We aim to respect your privacy, dignity and religious and cultural beliefs at all times. If you have any special needs, such as dietary needs or washing or praying facilities, please discuss this at your pre-assessment clinic, or telephone the contact number on your admission letter.
Your admission
Please call the number on your admissions letter if:
- you cannot make your admission date. Please contact us within 72 hours of receipt of your letter, so we can rearrange your appointment and give your bed to someone else. If you fail to contact us in these circumstances, it could affect your position on the Trust’s waiting list
- you think you have been exposed to an infection (such as chicken pox), or develop any of the following symptoms within the three days before your admission date – cough, cold, vomiting or diarrhoea. The admissions team will be able to advise what you should do in these circumstances.
Confirming your admission date
We will do everything we can to make sure there is no change to your admission date. However, please do not leave home until we have contacted you to confirm a bed is available. This is because, very occasionally, an emergency admission might need to be given first priority.
Admissions on the day before your surgery
If your admission is on the day prior to your surgery, you should have heard whether your bed is available from the admissions team by 2.00pm on the day of your admission into hospital. If you have not heard from the team by 2.00pm, please contact them using the telephone number shown on your letter.
Admissions on the day of surgery
If your admission is taking place on the same day as your surgery, you will be advised in advance whether your surgery will be in the morning or the afternoon. If you are having surgery in the morning, you need to arrive at the hospital by 7:30am. If you are having surgery in the afternoon, you will be contacted by the admissions team by 9:00am on the day of your surgery to confirm your bed.
Patient transport
If patient transport has been arranged to bring you into hospital, please do not come in until the admissions office has confirmed a bed is available for you. If your transport arrives before your bed is confirmed, please call the admissions team using the telephone number shown on your letter.
What should you bring?
Before you leave home, please check that you have packed:
- your admission letter and any other information we have sent to you
- all medications you are taking or using, including prescription medications, medicines you have bought or alternative medicines, such as herbal remedies
- small amounts of money in case you want to buy a newspaper or use the bedside television and telephone
- the name, address, postcode and telephone number of your GP, community social worker (if you have one) and your next of kin
- proof of entitlement to free travel costs, if appropriate
- nightclothes, a dressing gown, non-slip slippers (not flip flops) and a pair of comfortable flat shoes
- day clothes – a tracksuit or other looser, comfortable clothes
- your glasses and/or contact lenses
- your hearing aid if you use one
- any mobility aids you use, such as a walking stick or walking frame
- a hair brush or comb
- shaving equipment
- toothbrush and toothpaste
- flannel, soap and a towel
- shampoo
- sanitary products (such as tampons or sanitary towels)
- other toiletries.
- Items of religious importance to you.
You might also want to bring:
- books and magazines
- writing paper, pens and your address book.
Please do not bring:
- arge amounts of money, jewellery or other valuables
- alcohol or food
- large bags or suitcases because storage space is limited
Don’t forget to:
- cancel any deliveries at home, such as newspapers or milk
- cancel any home help you may have
- arrange for pets to be cared for. The RSPCA advises that the firrst port of call should be a trustworthy family member, friend or neighbour who knows your pet. You could also consider contacting your local cattery or kennels. Your local RSPCA branch may also be able to help. Various local authorities also provide assistance for people and their pets.
There is also a specialist organisation called The Cinnamon Trust which assists elderly people who are hospitalised or terminally ill and could help to look after a pet
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tell your family and friends you are coming into hospital
- remove any nail polish and false nails.
On arrival
Once you arrive at the hospital, there are signposts to help you find your way and our “welcomers” are usually available at the main entrance in Bernard Meade Wing to help you. Your admission letter gives you the details of where to go when you arrive. If you are not sure, please ask at the main reception.
When you arrive on the ward, please:
- hand all of your medications to your nurse. They will be checked to make sure they are safe to take and we will keep a record of all the medicines you take during your stay
- tell us if you have any allergies or side-effects to any medication
- give us as much information about your condition, symptoms or medication as possible, so that our staff can care for you.
If you need a medical certificate for your employer or for national insurance purposes, please let the ward staff know when you arrive or during your stay.
Personal possessions
We provide a bedside cupboard for your personal possessions. It should not be used for valuable items.
Valuable items
We ask that, whenever possible, you do not bring valuables, such as jewellery or large sums of money into hospital. Although we will do our best to offer you privacy on the ward, hospitals are public buildings and we cannot accept liability for mislaid or stolen property or money that is not handed in for safekeeping.
If you must bring valuables with you, they should be handed to your nurse when you arrive, so we can arrange for safekeeping. You will be asked to sign a disclaimer for any property not put into safekeeping.
Your valuables will be returned to you when you are ready to leave hospital. Large amounts of cash will be deposited at a local bank. When you leave you will be given a cheque for the amount deposited.
Privacy on the wards
We appreciate that our patients' preference is to receive treatment in a single sex area.
At Kingston Hospital, most of our wards contain separate, single sex bays. Single sex toilets are available on every ward, and all toilets and bathrooms are lockable rooms.
For routine, planned admissions, patients can expect to stay in a single-sex bay. However, there are situations where we may have to use mixed sex bays, particularly when patients need to receive care as quickly as possible.
For example:
- if you need intensive care, high dependency care, coronary care or cardiac monitoring (in our cardiac step-down unit on Bronte ward) you will, most likely, be in a bay of males and females
- if you are admitted as an emergency case from our A&E department into the Medical Assessment Centre (MAC) you may be placed in a bay of males and females. This is because your condition warrants further investigation and we cannot always wait for a bed in a single sex bay to become available
- we will explain the situation to you and your relatives or carers, to make sure that you understand what is happening. For most patients, your stay on the MAC should only be for a short period of time.
Once your condition has improved and we believe it is safe to transfer you, we will make every effort to place you in a same sex bay on an appropriate ward for your medical condition.
The hospital team
To help you identify who everybody is, all staff wear a name badge giving their name and occupation. If you cannot see their badge, please ask the member of staff to show it to you.
When you arrive on the ward, a member of staff will welcome you and show you where to go. You will be under the care of a consultant (senior doctor) and a team of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, such as pharmacists, therapists and radiographers. They will investigate, diagnose and treat you, see you regularly and decide when you are ready to leave hospital. If you would like to see a female doctor, we will do our best to meet this request where possible.
A registered nurse will be responsible for your nursing care during your hospital stay, and other nurses and healthcare assistants will also participate in your care.
Every ward has an experienced sister or nurse in charge who is responsible for overall management of the area. Groups of wards are supervised by matrons, who are responsible for standards of care and cleanliness and will help deal with complaints.
Please ask to see the sister, charge nurse or matron if you have any questions or concerns, they will be happy to talk to you.
Matrons wear grey uniforms, sisters and charge nurses wear navy blue uniforms, other nurses and health care assistants wear a pale blue, striped uniform. All should wear identity badges.
Students
Kingston Hospital is a teaching hospital responsible for training a wide range of health professionals. This means that students, supervised by qualified staff, might be involved in your care. This will not affect the quality of your treatment in any way, but does give valuable training for the students. Please tell the doctor or nurse in charge if you do not want students to be present during your treatment. Your wishes will always be respected.
Consenting to treatment
We want to make sure you fully understand your condition and the treatment choices available to you.
Before you receive any treatment, the doctor or nurse will explain what he or she is recommending and will discuss with you any concerns you may have and answer your questions. It is important that you understand what is going to happen to you.
Treatment is only carried out with your written consent after any procedure has been discussed with you. By signing a consent form you are giving us permission to proceed with treatment. In the rare situation where you are unable to give consent because of incapacity, or loss of consciousness, and an emergency procedure is needed, the hospital has specific policy/procedures and guidance to ensure that any treatment is absolutely necessary, in your best interest and takes in to account any pre-existing agreement regarding your treatment (e.g. Living Wills).
You can download some of the generic consent forms which you will be required to complete prior to investigation or treatment at Kingston Hospital.
Your information and confidentiality
Everyone working in the NHS has a legal duty to keep any information about you confidential. Your GP will be told of your progress unless you ask us not to do this. We have a legal duty to hold certain information about you. We will use this information to care for you, and it will also be used to help us to run and monitor the quality of our services. Apart from these purposes, no information about you will be used in a way that can identify you unless we have asked for your permission.
We might use some of the information about you for research and education, but only after we have removed any details which would make it possible to identify you. Please let us know if you are unhappy about this.
Under the 1998 Data Protection act, you have a right to access your health records. Please write to the Trust's Health Records Manager to arrange to view your records or request copies.
If you would like to know more about how we use your information, please ask for a copy of our leaflet Your information. You can also contact the Trust’s Information Governance Manager should you have further questions or concerns.
Eligibility for NHS treatment
Did you know that you may have to pay for your NHS treatment?
Please do not be offended if you are asked to prove your NHS status – this is to protect NHS funds for the benefit of all eligible NHS patients.
If you are asked you prove your NHS status, you may be asked to show your passport and/or other documents before an appointment is made for you at the hospital. You may be asked to show this information regardless of whether you are a British subject or EEC Citizen, or have lived or worked in the UK in the past, or have been issued with a HC2 certificate.
In accordance with the NHS Regulations 1989, all NHS Trusts have a legal obligation to identify and charge people who are not entitled to free NHS treatment. Kingston Hospital makes its decisions on entitlement to free NHS care in accordance with these regulations.
We reserve the right to refuse treatment if a patient is not entitled to free NHS treatment (except for emergency care in A&E). If a person is found to be non-NHS after inpatient or outpatient treatment, they will be charged. A&E treatment is exempt from these charges.
Charges for hospital treatment can be very expensive. If you are unsure of your NHS status and would like to speak to someone for advice, please call 020 8546 7711, Ext 2167, Monday to Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm. You should do this before you visit the hospital for inpatient or outpatient treatment (except for attendances at A&E).
Recording your needs
If you are happy for our staff to record your personal needs, it will help us to provide you with any assistance you require at future appointments. With your consent, we would indicate on your health records if you have, for example, a visual or hearing impairment.
Kingston Hospital has a Disability Equality Group (DEG) that looks at how we can improve our services for disabled people. If you would like to fill in an inpatient questionnaire, your comments and suggestions will be reviewed by the DEG.
Mobile phones and photography
Mobile phones should not be used in clinical areas of the hospital where they may interfere with medical equipment or disturb other patients. Please check with staff before you use your phone. There are also payphones around the hospital should you need to make a call.
All patients have a right to privacy. The hospital rules are that photographs may not be taken inside the hospital of patients and staff without their permission so please do not use mobiles or cameras to take pictures in the hospital. When there are official photographers on site, you will be asked for your permission before a photograph is taken and you will be asked to sign a release form to allow us to use these pictures.
Smoking
Kingston Hospital has a smoke-free policy and smoking is not permitted within hospital buildings or grounds.
Patients coming to the hospital for treatment will be asked to consider giving up smoking to improve their health. The 6 week programme is also available for visitors, members of the public and hospital staff.
Evidence shows that 70% of smokers are actively thinking about giving up smoking therefore it’s important that we give people the support they need to succeed. Committing to giving up smoking will help Kingston Hospital reach one of its CQUINS* (Commissioning for Quality and Innovation Scheme) targets and means the hospital could get an additional 5% of its income from NHS Kingston, the local Primary Care Trust. All funds raised will go back into supporting the hospital and its services.
Call 020 8293 2081 to make an appointment.
Your discharge home
Your discharge home starts at the point you are admitted to hospital!
We need your help in planning how you will leave the hospital, where you may be transferred to, and to ensure you get the best ongoing care once you are ready to leave hospital.
If your discharge is planned, you will be able to leave hospital knowing that any future care you may need has already been arranged.
As soon as you are fit to leave hospital, you may be returning home, going to a rehabilitation unit or residential/nursing home or to live with your family.
For more information, please click here for our patient information leaflet, "Planning for discharge".
