Haematology and haematological oncology - U3

Our aim is to provide the highest quality of care in a welcoming and pleasant environment.

Whether you are here for a day or a number of weeks, we want you and your family to feel well informed and understand what is happening. We hope you will not hesitate to ask for as much information and advice as you require about any aspect of your care here on U3.

To ensure continuity of care between hospital and community teams, it will be necessary to share data about your diagnosis and treatment with your GP, district hospital and any community teams involved in your care.

If you have any objection to this, please inform the haematology team looking after you.

Who's who on ward U3?

If you would like to find out “who’s who”, we have ward notice boards at the ward entrance, with the names and pictures of ward staff.

Uniforms

• Matron - navy blue with teal piping
• Ward manger and specialist nurses - navy blue
• Junior sisters - royal blue
• Staff nurses - light blue stripes
• Housekeepers and ward assistants - green
• Student nurses - light grey uniform

General information

We please ask that you limit the amount of personal belongings you bring in with you and that you accumulate during your stay on the ward. This is due to space restrictions on the ward and to help with infection control measures.

As a general rule, all of your personal belongings should be able to be stored, without cramming, in your locker if required and off the floor. Please arrange for surplus belongings to be taken home regularly. This keeps the ward area free from non-essential items. Personal belongings remain the responsibility of the patients.

If you have any objection to this, please inform the haematology team looking after you.

Also if, for any reason during your stay, you need to be transferred to an intensive unit, no personal belongings are allowed. Any items you have with you will need to be taken home as there is no interim storage area on U3.

To ensure continuity of care between hospital and community teams, it will be necessary to share data about your diagnosis and treatment with your GP, district hospital and any community teams involved in your care.

On your arrival

When you arrive on U3 a nurse will show you to your room where you will be familiarised with your environment.

A nurse will take blood samples from your arm or your central line, perform baseline observations and ask you a few questions. You will also be advised to pass urine into bedpans / bottles from midnight on the day that you arrive. We will remove these from your bathroom every two hours and ask you what you have had to drink. It may be a good idea to keep a record of what you have had to drink and we advise that you drink two to three litres a day.

Sometimes the treatments and their side effects may affect you and you might feel unsteady when walking. For your own safety, when using the bathroom at night please sit on the bed for a few moments before standing. Once standing, please wait a few moments before walking to the bathroom. If at any time you feel unwell or unsteady, please call for help.

Visiting

Our visiting hours are 08:00-20:00. These may be subject to change.

In exceptional circumstances if you need to visit outside these times please contact the sister in charge to discuss a planned visit.

In other exceptional circumstances, we have the facility to enable one of your relatives to stay overnight on a chair in your room. This is on an occasional basis only and must be pre-arranged with the nurse in charge on the day. Unfortunately this cannot apply to patients who are being looked after in multi bedded rooms.

For infection control reasons there are no ‘on ward’ washing or toilet facilities for non-patients. Your relatives must use the facilities in the corridor near the lifts. For infection control reasons - under no circumstances can relatives use the shower or toilet in your room.

For infection control reasons, children under the age of 12 are not allowed on the ward. Where possible we will recommend you to go off the ward with your children. When this is not possible please speak to the nurse in charge prior to a planned visit who will be understanding of these exceptional circumstances.

We do stress that if a visitor has had a recent illness or infectious disease (including colds), it is best to avoid visiting. Similarly if visitors have been exposed to chicken pox they must not visit. This is because many of our patients on U3 are very susceptible to infections.

Please let your friends and family know that living flowers or potted plants are not allowed on the ward.

Food and drink

Meal times are:

08:00 - Breakfast: cereals, toast

12.15 - Lunch: cooked meal

17:00 - Supper: sandwiches, light meal

There are also regular tea and coffee rounds throughout the day.

If you require a procedure off the ward during mealtimes, we can provide a missed-meal service for you.

Ward facilities

• The ward has 30 beds, 6 single rooms, 6 bays of 4 beds. Every room is provided with en-suite facilities; we advise that you run your shower for five minutes prior to getting into it. This reduces the risk of infection.
• Visitor toilets are available adjacent the ward staff room. We must insist that visitors do not use patient facilities.
• Post, with stamp, can be left at the nurses’ station.
• The Patientline television system is available at a cost. Please follow the instructions on the card attached to your television.
• WIFI on U3 is currently available, however it can be intermittent and streaming is not available.
• It is not always necessary for you to be cared for in a single room. In order to ensure all of our patients are looked after appropriately, we may need to move you into a shared room or to another suitable ward. These decisions are always made to ensure that the best care can be given to all of our patients and your cooperation, should a move be required, would be greatly appreciated.

Clothing and laundry

• Relatives / friends will need to take responsibility for laundering your clothes.
• While you are an inpatient on Ward U3, our aim is to keep you as independent as possible while you receive your treatment. To promote independence you are actively encouraged to dress and perform as much of your own care as possible, with nursing assistance when required.

Same sex accommodation

Our aim for you

We are committed to treating all patients with privacy and dignity in a safe, clean and comfortable environment. This means, with a few exceptions, we will care for you in same sex bays in wards with separate sanitary facilities for men and women.

Same sex accommodation and what it means

In same sex areas we should always be able to offer you:

• Separate male or female sleeping areas in either bays or, where possible, in whole wards
• Separate sanitary (bathroom / washing) facilities which are clearly designated for men or women
• The ability to reach your own facilities without having to pass through an area of the opposite sex.

Disabled facilities (bathrooms and toilets) contain specialist equipment and so are for use by either men or women.

If you have any concerns about your privacy and dignity, we are here to help. Please speak to the ward sister or charge nurse in the first instance.

Drug rounds

Please do not to interrupt the nursing staff while they are doing the drug round or checking medicines.

Timings are 08.00, 13.00, 17.00 and 22.00.

Discharge

We are committed to ensuring that you are discharged safely on the completion of your treatment. The ward team will keep you involved in all decisions regarding this.

As we are constantly experiencing bed pressures within the Trust, please be aware if your medical team confirm you have no further clinical needs on your day of discharge, you may be asked to go to the Trust’s discharge lounge whilst you wait for your medications and transport home. You may also be asked to move out of the bed space and sit on a chair in our reserve boarding space.

Who to contact for further advice / questions

Please feel free to ask any member of staff for further advice. We are always happy to answer your questions.

Please call after 08:00 following the changeover of nursing staff.

For your own health and safety, if you leave the ward at any time, please let a member of the ward staff know.

Privacy and dignity

Same sex bays and bathrooms are offered in all wards except critical care and theatre recovery areas where the use of high-tech equipment and / or specialist one to one care is required.