Your admission letter will ask you to telephone the hospital before you come in to ensure that a bed is available. It is important that you do this as most wards in our hospital admit patients through the Accident and Emergency Department on a 24-hour basis. If your admission has to be deferred by the hospital, you will be given as much notice as possible and a new appointment will be sent to you at the earliest possible date. If, for any reason, you are unable to attend for admission, please ring the admissions office. This will be greatly appreciated by another patient on the waiting list who in turn will be given your appointment.

On arrival at the hospital, please check in at the Admissions Office. You will be asked to confirm details such as name, address, telephone number, next of kin, religion and general practitioner. The admissions officer will be pleased to advise you on matters relating to The Health Act entitlements and hospital charges. Claim forms for private health insurance if required are available from the Admissions Office; details of private health insurance should be given to this office if applicable.

Admission letter
If you are a medical card holder or have private medical insurance(such as VHI/BUPA, Garda Medical Aid etc.) Please bring all relevant information i.e. Medical Card, Expiry Date.
Up to date list of medications and cards e.g. Warfarin, steroid allergy, blood sugar records.
Clothing: Night clothes, dressing gown, underwear and comfortable non-slip footwear
Toiletries: Hand towel, face cloth, toothpaste etc. Men: please bring in your own shaving equipment
Day Cases

If you are attending for a day case, please confirm 2-3 days prior to your procedure with the Day Services Department at 045-849505.

Admission to Ward

You will be met by a member of the ward staff and shown to your bed. You will get an identification bracelet detailing your name, date of birth and hospital number. It is important that you do not remove this bracelet during your stay.If you need to leave the ward at any time, please inform the Ward Manager.

Our staff are conscious of and highly committed to addressing the special needs of our patients. It may be that you have a mobility, communication, visual, hearing or language difficulty. If you have a special need, please make it knownto the Ward Manager on your admission.

You have a right to receive a clear explanation of your treatment and the options available to you at every stage of your care from your treating Consultant or their team.

Consent

Written consent is required prior to surgery or specialised examinations being undertaken. The relevant documentation will be provided to you by the hospital.

A patient under the age of 16 requires written consent of a parent/guardian before surgery can take place and thus, when being admitted should be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

Accommodation

Medical and nursing needs will determine the allocation of hospital

accommodation. This means that you may not necessarily occupy the same accommodation for the duration of your hospital stay. It may be necessary for you to be transferred between wards during the course of your hospital stay.This will occur in order to facilitate the quality of care given to you and other patients in the hospital.

In the event of an emergency admission to the hospital you will beaccommodated in whatever bed is available. In the case of private/semiprivate patients, admission to a public bed may be necessary due to limited availability of private and semi-private beds.

Some tests may need to be carried out at other hospitals and where this is the case, Naas General Hospital will arrange transport during your admission.

Medicines

All the medicines prescribed during your stay will be supplied by the hospital.If you have been taking medication prior to admission, please bring these medications with you and discuss with Ward Manager/Nursing Staff. It could be dangerous for you to take medicines which are brought in to you by visitors during your stay in the hospital and you should always tell the Ward Manager of any medicines brought to you in this way.

The hospital does not accept responsibility for loss, theft or damage topersonal belongings not handed over for safekeeping.

Please note that you are responsible for your own personal property and clothing. Please do not bring any valuables such as jewellery, large sums of money or pension/savings books. Where this is unavoidable, please contact the Ward Manager who will arrange for their safekeeping.

Your Consultant will decide when you are fit for discharge. As much notice as is possible will be given to you. You will be given infomration by the nursing staff regarding your treatment plan for discharge before you leave the hospital. Please feel free to ask questions before you leave the hospital.

If you or your family members have any specific concerns regarding your care prior to discharge, the issue should be raised at ward level in the first instance. All concerns raised will be addressed by the Clinical Nurse Manager. Where necessary, input from other members of the multi-disciplinary team will be requested. In the case of more complex issues, or at the request of the patient/family, a multi-discplinary team meeting can be arranged. The Consultant and/or a member of his/her team will be required to attend where their input is deemed necessary. Other members of the multi-disciplinary team (eg Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Clinical Nurse Specialist etc) will also be asked to attend as appropriate.We also have Discharge Co-ordinators in place who provide support to ensure safe and appropriate discharge of complex cases; referrals are accepted for any member of the multi-disciplinary team.

On discharge please ensure the following:

• That your medication regime is fully understood by you. You may need a prescription for your pharmacy.
• That you receive confirmation of the date and time of your next appointment if necessary.
• That you have taken all your personal belongings.

Your GP will receive a letter from the hospital Consultant detailing relevant information about your treatment and stay in hospital and advising of any subsequent treatment required.

Medical certificates if required should be obtained from a member of your consultant team before discharge. Further medical certificates for periods after your discharge should be obtained from your GP.

In the interest of patient safety, we would ask that patients arrange to be collected at ward level on discharge.

Post: Post and deliveries will be brought to your ward on a daily basis. Personal post should have your full name and name of ward on it.