On your arrival
Please arrive at The New Victoria Hospital at the requested time.
After your arrival, you will be escorted to your allocated room by a member of the ward team who will familiarise you with your surroundings, explaining how to operate the nurse call system, lighting, television and radio.
Soon after your arrival a nurse will come to ask you a series of questions in order to obtain a concise medical and social history. You will be asked to hand over your medication for safe storage. Your weight and height will be measured; this is to aid the Anaesthetist when calculating the necessary dose of medication. The nurse will also record your blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation level and temperature; this is to act as a baseline measurement prior to surgery.
You may find you are asked the same questions by different people as part of our checking procedure. This is standard practice and ensures maximum safety for every patient having an operation. For this reason you will be required to wear a patient identification bracelet throughout your stay in hospital.
During your stay
You will be seen by your Consultant and asked to sign a consent form for your surgery. He/she will outline what will happen during the operation. You will also be seen by your Anaesthetist.
You will be given an approximate time when you are expected to go to theatre, although this may change, depending on the theatre team’s progress. We appreciate that waiting to go to theatre can be a very anxious time. The nursing staff on the ward will keep you informed of any changes or delays as soon as they are made aware of them.
You will be required to wear a hospital gown, but you can wear cotton underwear under it; disposable pants will be provided if cotton ones are not worn. If you are undergoing a general anesthetic you will be required to remove any make-up, nail varnish, contact lenses, dentures and jewellery. Wedding bands can usually be retained and will be taped over by a member of the nursing staff.
You may also be asked to wear surgical stockings; these help to prevent blood clots forming in the legs. For the same purpose, your Consultant and Anaesthetist may also want you to have anti-coagulant injections for the first few days after the operation.
When it is time for your operation you will be accompanied by a ward nurse to the anaesthetic room, where the theatre staff will take over your care.
After your surgery/treatment, you will be taken to the recovery unit where you will begin to wake up. The amount of time spent in the recovery unit varies between different people, the nature of the surgery and the way you react to your anaesthetic.
When you wake up, you may have an oxygen mask over your face; this is quite normal. A nurse will be checking your pulse, blood pressure and breathing rate, whilst ensuring you are comfortable and in as little pain as possible. When you are fully awake, you will be taken back to your room, escorted by a nurse from your ward. The nurse will monitor you as you continue to recover.
If you experience any pain, please let your nurse know straight away so that appropriate pain relief can be arranged for you.
The type of operation/treatment you have had will determine when you can start drinking and eating again. Your nurse will be able to advise you. If you have undergone surgery you will need the assistance of a nurse when attempting to get out of bed for the first time even if you feel perfectly capable.
Your Consultant will visit you every day during your stay.
Infection control
The New Victoria Hospital has an extremely low infection rate and ther have been no incidences of healthcare acquired MRSA and Clostridium Difficile.
Our Infection Control Nurse works closely with the clinical and non-clinical staff and has the support of a 24-hour on call Consultant Microbiologist, to minimise the risk of infection to patients.
Our dedicated housekeepers receive regular training in infection control procedures to maintain high standards of cleaning and ensure a dust free environment.
We ask our patients for their active co-operation in maintaining our standards. You can help by remembering that frequent hand-washing is the most important way of preventing infection, so always remember to wash your hands:
- before and after meals
- after using the toilet or commode
Staff attending you will wash/gel their hands prior to any care intervention and hand gel is readily available in your room for staff, patient and visitor use.
If you have an intravenous infusion, wound drain or catheter do not touch these, or any other device.
Speak to your nurse if:-
- your infusion line, urinary catheter or wound drain becomes loose or disconnected
- your dressing becomes loose or you see any leakage from the wound or infusion site
you have any pain or redness at the site of your infusion. We recommend that friends or relatives with a cold, chest infection, diarrhoea and vomiting or any other infection, do not visit you while you are in hospital. Your visitors will be reminded to use the alcohol hand gel on their arrival.
Visitors
Receiving visitors is at the discretion of the nurse in charge. Visiting times are between 9.00am and 9.00pm; although we advise you to try and limit the number of visitors you have immediately after your operation. We also recommend that very young children - especially those who have not been immunised - wait until you leave hospital and are feeling better, before they are brought to see you. Please also note our recommendations regarding visitors in previous section on Infection Control.
If you wish your visitors to eat with you in your room, this can be arranged for an additional charge. If you do not wish to receive visitors or telephone calls, please speak with your nurse.
