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CHRISTCHURCH HOSPITAL
General Patient Information
Being admitted to Christchurch Hospital or one of its facilities and you do not know what to expect.
Within this general patient information page are details about being admitted to this hospital, its emergency department and wards. What happens when you arrive. Who and how will your care be undertaken and what happens when you leave or are discharged.
You can be admitted to hospital by either of two ways as an Arranged Admission or as an Emergency Admission
| Blood tests | Chest X-ray | |
| Urine Tests | ECG (tracing of the heart) |
All these tests are
carried out to ensure you at an optimum level of
health for your surgery and all your needs will
be met.
The Emergency Department provides care to patients with serious or life threatening illness that require urgent attention, including resuscitation, diagnosing, treating and deciding on admission into hospital. On average 200 patients can present in the Department each 24 hours. This means we see over 70,000 patients each year.
The Department is not intended as a facility to be used for long standing or minor illnesses which can be treated at a General Practitioner's office or After Hours Clinic.
For most follow-up treatment you will be referred to your family doctor or a Specialist Clinic.
What Happens when you arrive in the Emergency Department
On arrival you will seen by the Triage Nurse. He/she is a Senior Registered Nurse who will determine the seriousness of your condition and the urgency with which you must be seen by the Doctor.
Sometimes you will have to wait to be seen as there may be more critically ill or injured people who must take priority. If the waiting time is longer than you expect, please be reassured that the Nurses will continue to observe yuor condition to ensure you are safe and answer any questions until you can be seen.
The Staff in the Emergency Department work closely with other professionals througout the Hospital to ensure you receive appropriate care. If you condition requires you to be admitted, you may then be transferred to an observation bed in the Emergency observation Area (EOA) next to the Department. Patients may remain in this area (EOA) for up to 24 hours and received all their treatments there before being discharged home.
However, if you need specialist attention and/or longer treatment, you will be transferred directly to another Ward in the Hospital where your care will continue.
If you were to be admitted during the night, you will remain in the Emergency Observation Area for observation until morning, but this will not alter any treatments your require. you will then be seen by the specialist In-patient Team before transferring to the Specialist Ward.
On arrival at the ward arranged for your admission, either through the Arranged Admitting Office or through the Emergency Department, you will be met by the Ward Clerk or Nurse assigned to provide your cares for that shift.
The nurses primarily concerned with your cares on each shift will introduce themselves to you when they come on duty.
You are asked not to leave the Ward without checking with Nursing Staff as it is important you receive all the treatments required.
You will generally remain on the Ward to which you are first admitted. If you begin your admission in a single room, you may also later be moved in to a room with other patients as you prepare for discharge. However, during some periods when the numbers of seriously ill admissions are very high, such as during the winter months, you may be moved to another Ward to continue your treatments if your condition is deemed stable. You will still continue to be seen by the same Medical Team providing your care from the time of your admission in the new location.
Ward Staff Providing Your Care
A number of health professionals will assist in providing your care and treatments during your stay. These may include: Doctors, Nurses, Dieticians, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Therapists, Social Workers and others.
The staff you will see most frequently are the nurses providing your daily cares. There is a mix of Staff Nurses and Enrolled Nurses on each shift. There are also Nurse Aides who assist on the wards (green unifroms with white piping).
Each ward has a Ward Clerk who works Monday to Friday. This person makes patient appointments and takes calls about patients. Your family/whanau may also speak with this staff member when asking about your needs.
A Clinical Charge Nurse manages each ward Monday to Friday during the day. However there is also a designated Senior Nurse in Charge of the Ward at all other times. The name of the person in charge at any time, is recorded on the Staff Board at the Nurses Station. These people can assist with any concerns you may have. The ward nurses are responsible to a Patient Care Manager who provides the overall management of a specialist group of wards.
Ask the ward staff for the Information Pamphlet about the Specialist Services of your Ward and the key staff.
Your treatments will be managed by members of the Medical Team under which you are admitted. This Medical Team includes the Consultant, Registrar, House Surgeon and Trainee Intern. If you have any particular questions, please feel free to ask the Doctors on the Ward round. During the evenings or at night you may also be seen by the Duty Doctors, who will make themselves familiar with your treatments in order to meet your needs.
We recognise that you know best how your body responds to illness and other life experiences, and what is right and acceptable for you. We would like you to continue making decisions regarding your health and caring for yourself with our assistance and support. There will be some things that you will be able to do for yourself and others the nurses with help you with, or do for you.
We support your right to be fully informed and make decisions about your health problems and care. Please do not hesitate to ask for more information or to question anything you do not understand. For procedures (eg. operations, the administration of anaesthetics, and certain diagnostic procedures) you will be required to give specific consent in writing, you doctor and/or anaesthetist will fully explain the procedure(s) or other treatment options, what to expect following your procedure, and answer your questions, before you are asked to sign the consent form. The doctor who assists you with your consent may not necessarily be the same person who completes the surgery/procedure.
We encourage the support of a close relative or friend and would be happy to discuss how you might like them to be involved in your care, including what information you would like them to be given about you or any of your treatments.
You are encouraged (or your caregivers) to bring medicines currently used with you on admission - especially if it is an acute admission. This is to assist the medical staff with providing the best care and treatment.
The medications will not be used when you are an in-patient except as a temporary measure until a supply can be obtained. Your own medications will then be stored in a dedicated area on the ward. (This does not apply if patients are self-medicating with medications supplied from the Hospital Pharmacy).
On discharge, the following medications will be returned to you:
Correctly labelled items that you are to continue taking.
Non-prescription items that you have purchased.
The following items will not routinely be returned:
Items which have been discontinued as a result of your admission.
Out of date medicines.
Medicines with illegible or missing labels.
If you have any queries, please discuss these with your nurse, doctor or the ward pharmacist.
In accordance with Canterbury District Health Board's policies, no one may bring into the hospital any alcohol, drugs or stimulants, other than prescription drugs where these are part of a patient's treatment programme.
All patients who are seriously ill, may be visited by their family at any time with the approval of the Nurse in Charge. If family members are likely to be away from home, it is important to leave a contact telephone number(s) with the Ward staff.
However, visitors are encouraged to keep to visiting hours whenever possible in the interests of the patient's well-being, and in consideration for other patients.
It is preferred, that a parent or guardian be present when children are admitted to the Hospital. Please allow some time for the medical staff to interview you regarding your child. A parent or legal guardian will be asked to sign consent for treatments for children.
Whenever possible, we encourage a parent or legal guardian to stay with or near the child in hospital and to assist with the child's care.
Detailed information about services for children and parents is available as a booklet in each ward room. Please ask to see this on arrival.
Limited live-in accommodation for parents is available in certain circumstances.
Children of school age
receive tuition in our Hospital School which is
controlled by the Department of Education and under the
supervision of experienced teachers.
| School hours are: | 9.00am to 12.00pm |
| 1.00pm to 3.00pm. |
Children of pre-school age who are patients in the Children's Wards, have access to the Playroom, which is a supervised Pre-School Centre located between Wards 21 and 22.
When You Have Concerns or Questions About Your Care
There are a number of people you can talk to:
Medical/Nursing
All Wards or
Departments have a NURSE IN CHARGE.
The Medical Team - CONSULTANT, REGISTRAR and HOUSE SURGEON, all of who will be familiar with your current treatment.
Each Area has a PATIENT CARE MANAGER.
Out of normal hours the DUTY MANAGER can assist you with this process. Contact through the Hospital TELEPHONE OPERATOR (364 0640).
Other
The CUSTOMER SERVICES MANAGER (Telephone 364 0843) is available to discuss any concerns or questions.
The independent PATIENT ADVOCACY SERVICE can be contacted on Telephone 3777 501.
Social Work Services
If you or your relatives have a personal, domestic or financial problem associated with your illness, ask to see a Social Worker.
Social Workers are available to patients of Christchurch Hospital and their family/Whanau to assist with issues relating to your hospital stay and discharge.
A referral to a Social Worker may be a routine part of your overall care. However, if you would like to speak with a Social Worker, OR know more about what Social Work Services have to offer, you can either request information from the Ward Staff or contact Social Work Services directly be ringing 364 0420 or visiting the department located in Hagley Hostel, East Side, 2nd Floor.
Relatives and friends may ring the Patient Enquiries Desk on 364 0600 at any time to enquire about your day-to-day condition. Telephone messages cannot be taken for patients unless the matter is urgent; only in exceptional circumstances is it possible to put telephone calls through to an individual patient.
If relatives want more detailed information about patients, they may ask the Nurse in Charge to arrange an appointment with the Doctor concerned. As the patient, you will always be asked about what information you want given out and to whom. If it is helpful for you and your family members, we can arrange a family meeting with all the key staff involved in your care, particularly if you are considering alternative care arrangements as part of your discharge plan.
At the time of your discharge, you will be given a note for your own Doctor advising of your condition, the diagnosis and treatment, as well as details of any help arranged for you at home. This may take some time to arrange and you will be advised of the anticipated time when you will be able to leave the Hospital. This will time for you to contact family or friends for your transport arrangements.
Once your discharge has been confirmed and before your transport has arrived, you may be asked to vacate your assigned bed and wait in the Patient Lounge in the Ward. This will only occur if the staff believe you are well enough to do so.
To ensure continuity of care, once you are home, we suggest you contact your Doctor's surgery if medical services are required. More detailed information about your on-going care by way of a written report will be sent to your Doctor as soon as possible after you are discharged.
If you have any difficulty with transport, follow-up treatment, or help at home, please ask the nurse managing your care or ask to see a Social Worker from the Social Work Department, (located in Hagley Hostel, East Side, 2nd Floor), or by ringing 364 0420.
You may be required to attend a follow-up appointment in an Outpatient Clinic, at the Physiotherapy Department or other Specialist Clinics. You will be sent an appointment card detailing the date and time to attend.
We support your right to be fully informed about your health and on-going care, so please do not hesitate to ask for more information or to question anything you do not understand when attending your clinic appointment. You may also bring a support person with you.
We welcome constructive comments to enable us to continue improving our service.
We encourage you to discuss your concerns at anytime with the nurse in charge of the shift; or they will assist you to contact the Customer Services Office in the Hospital. you may also complete a Suggestions, Compliments & Complaints form which can be found on one of the blue boxes provided throughout the hospital.
We also have electronic feedback forms that you can complete on-line.
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