General Surgical Wards - Welcome to Ward T7 - Trauma & Orthopaedic Ward

Welcome to our hospital

We aim to ensure that you feel safe and are cared for with kindness and respect at all times. We will make every effort to involve you in your care as much as you wish, which is also extended to your family and carers.

We hope you find this information useful during your stay.

About Ward T7

Ward T7 is a Trauma and Orthopaedic ward.

Patients are generally admitted to the ward following some trauma affecting the musculoskeletal system (bones, joints, muscles). We offer a 24-hour trauma service with dedicated trauma operation theatre sessions 7 days a week, providing a wide range of planned day case and inpatient surgery within the following sub-specialties knee, foot and ankle, hand, wrist and shoulder.

The Trauma and Orthopaedic ward has 32 beds and is situated on level 2.

There may be both male and female patients on the ward where you are staying. However, the toilets and bathrooms close to your bay are for people of your sex only, and you will not need to walk past patients of the opposite sex to reach your bathroom and toilet facilities.
 
We have a limited number of side rooms that accommodate one person only. These rooms may be used for number of reasons, for example to prevent infection spreading.

If you need a test or treatment in another part of the hospital, we will make sure that you are appropriately dressed, and your privacy and dignity are maintained at all times.

Whilst you are here you will meet several members of the team, who will introduce themselves. All our staff will be wearing name badges.

Every day you will be allocated a Named Nurse who will coordinate your care. They will write their name on the ‘Named Nurse Board’ behind your bed.

We also encourage you to let us know ‘what matters most to you’ each day so that we can try to facilitate this as best as possible.

It is very important to us that your personal care and hygiene needs are meet, for example that there are no delays if you need help to go to the toilet, and that we manage any pain you may experience effectively.

If you have any concerns about any aspect of your care, please talk to the ward sister or Charge Nurse.

If they are not available or you wish to talk to somebody from outside the ward, you can call a senior Nurse 24 hours a day on 07970 199258.

If there is anything else, we can do for you and your family whilst you are with us; please do not hesitate to ask.

Uniforms

Below are some pictures of uniforms worn by our staff on the ward:

Many of our staff work in shifts. At the end of each shift, staff will hand over information about your progress to the team in the next shift. This is to ensure staff coming on shift have the most up-to-date information about your care.

If you have any questions or concerns about your care, please ask, or make a note to ask a member of your nursing team or the doctor during ward rounds. You will be cared for by a skilled medical team, led by a consultant. You may meet different doctors who carry out a range of duties and procedures in support of the medical team.

Your ward sister or charge nurse is responsible for your safety and well-being while you are on the ward. Staff nurses are responsible for assessing, planning, carrying out and evaluating your nursing care. A lead nurse will support your ward team and is responsible for the overall quality of nursing care.

Depending on your needs, a physiotherapist or an occupational therapist may be part of the team caring for you. Nursing assistants are not registered nurses but help other health professionals with your day-to-day care. We have a team of housekeepers to ensure our hospitals are kept clean.

As a teaching hospital, we may have medical, nursing or other students working on the ward under the close supervision of senior staff. If you do not want to be seen by students, please tell us. It will not affect your care in any way.

At times you may see a member of our security team or a police officer on our wards, supporting our staff. The security team work hard to keep everyone safe. We do not tolerate violence or aggression in our hospitals.
 
We want to involve you in all decisions about your care.

Please tell us if you:

• Need us to explain something more clearly
• Need extra help or are in pain
• Feel staff could involve you more in discussions about your care
• Have any fears or worries about your care or treatment
• Wish to get a second opinion of your care

Keeping visitors informed

We appreciate that family, friends and carers will want to call the ward and find out how you are. If possible, please ask one person in your family to call us and then keep everyone else informed.  Please give this person the contact card you have been given, so they have the wards contact details. To keep your health information private, we can only give limited information over the telephone.

Visiting

Following a successful trial at The Royal Oldham Hospital, an open visiting policy has been implemented at the Trust allowing relatives and friends to visit at any time.

The new policy forms part of the Trust's aim to make its hospitals more carer and dementia friendly by giving relatives and carers the chance to spend more time with their loved one at a time that suits them and have an active role in their care while they are in hospital.
 
Traditionally, visitors were only allowed on the wards to visit their relatives at set times in the afternoon and evening. Now however, access is available at any time of the day through discussion with the ward staff. Children are welcome to visit parents, carers and relatives in hospital, but any child under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult visitor.

Each patient is allowed only two visitors at a time. This helps to ensure that you get the rest you need and that noise and disruption to other patients is kept to a minimum. If staff are busy caring for you, your visitors may be asked to wait before they can see you.

Settling into the ward

Our staff are here to look after you and help answer any questions you may have. If you are well enough, we will do our best to show you around the ward. A member of staff will explain how to use the call bell by your besides, and in the bathrooms and toilets, should you require assistance.

Your identity bracelet

We will give you a hospital identity bracelet with your name on it, which allows staff to quickly identify you. If you have an allergy, we will also give you a red band to wear. These are for your safety, so please wear them at all times.

Storing your personal belongings

There’s a cupboard beside your bed where you can store your personal belongings. We do not recommend using it for valuables, as there is no lock. We ask patients to leave valuable at home wherever possible. If you have brought valuables with you, please ask a relative to take them home for you if possible. Please tell your nurse if you have any concerns.

Privacy, dignity and respect

We expect our staff to do their best for you, and to treat you with dignity and respect. Similarity, we do not expect our staff to be subjected to any form of verbal abuse, threatened or assaulted in anyway. We are unable to take responsibilities for valuables unless you put them in the Trusts secure facilities.  Speak to your nurse if you need help.

Your medicines

Please give all medicines that you have brought in to your nurse, who will tell you where and how they will be stored. Your medicines will be moved with you if you need to change wards. If you would like to administer your own medication whilst in hospital, please discuss this with your nurse.

It is important to tell the doctor and ward pharmacist about any medicines that you are taking, including prescription and over the counter medicines, as well as any alternative medicines such as herbal remedies. Please let us know if you are allergic to any medicines.

Wi-Fi

Free access to the internet is available for all patients, visitors and carers. To connect to our wireless network:

1. Go to your Wi-Fi settings and select Wi-Fi hotspot
2. Connect
3. Enter your name and email address
4. Read and accept the terms and conditions
5. You will then be connected

Entertainment units

Hospedia is a private company which provides the bedside television and telephone service. You can buy pre-payment cards from the machines on the main corridor. You can also pay with a credit or debit card at the beside unit. Currently the service is provided free of charge from 8am - 12 noon each day. The bedside units also provide access to the radio. The radio service is free but you will need to register.

Noise

Please be considerate to other patients and wear headphones when watching TV or using other electronic devise, as the noise may disturb them.

Mobile phones

These can still affect some hospital equipment. The nurses on the ward will tell you if, and where, you can use your mobile phone on the ward.

Sleep

We want you to be able to rest and sleep as well as possible during your stay. Prepare for rest and sleep as you would normally do, and make sure you have anything you might need during the night close at hand.

After 10pm, please keep noise to a minimum wherever possible. Put any mobile devices on silent and use the headphones provided to listen to the TV or radio. Please also dim the screens of any electronic devices.

After 11pm, the main ward lights will be dimmed. If you need any help to go the bathroom, please speak to a member of the healthcare team.
 
Please ask your nursing team if there is anything you need to help you sleep, such as pain relief, or extra blankets or pillows.

Asking for your consent

We want to involve you in all decisions about your treatment and care. Remember that you can choose whether to accept or decline any treatment we suggest, and we will support and respect your decision.

Before you decide, you should receive a leaflet that clearly explains the benefits and risk of the treatment, and lists of other treatment options that may be available. If you decide to go ahead, we will ask you to sign a consent form. This confirms that you agree to have the proposed treatment and that you understand what it involves. This confirms that you agree to the proposed treatment and you understand what it involves.

Information about you

We have a legal duty to keep your information confidential and secure.

To make sure we give you the most effective treatment and care, we hold a record about you and your care, including your name, address, telephone number and medical history. Only people who need this information to care for you can access it.

Your health records

We are moving towards keeping patient's health records electronically. This makes it easier for your records to be transferred with you to another location in the hospital if needed.

Your meals

Eating well helps you recover, so we want you to benefit as much as possible from the food you eat while in hospital. We make appetising, nourishing meals using fresh ingredients in our hospital kitchens.

• Breakfast 7:30am - 8:45am
• Lunch 12 noon - 1pm
• Dinner 5pm - 6pm

Snacks and drinks will be offered throughout the day.

Meal options are chosen from a menu completed on the ward each day (for the following day). Please inform staff of any special dietary requirements on admission to the ward.

Please note that we cannot reheat food that had been brought in for you by friends or relatives because of the risk of infection.

Tell us if you:

• Need help at mealtimes - (the food service assistant or nurse can help you)
• Have a dietary requirement that doesn’t appear on the menu
• May need support with shopping or cooking when you leave hospital

Help us to protect you

To reduce the risk of infection we may give you a bottle of special skin wash to use in the bath or shower during your hospital stay. If you have any questions about how to use it, please ask staff caring for you.

Thoroughly cleaning hands is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infection. You can help taking these steps:

• Clean your hands before meals. If you are not near a hand wash basin, please with the hand rub at your bedside
• Clean your hands with soap and water after going to the toilet
• Encourage your visitors to clean their hands when they enter and leave the ward, and ask them not to visit you if they are ill

All staff should clean their hands before any contact with you. If you are worried that a staff member has not cleaned their hands, you have a right to ask that they do so. If you find this difficult, please speak to the ward sister.

For more information, please ask for our leaflet about hand hygiene.

Smoking

The Royal Oldham hospital is now smoke-free. You are not allowed to smoke or use e-cigarettes on Trust property, including outside areas. We will ask you whether you smoke and offer you or find you support to stop smoking, such as nicotine replacement therapy. Giving up smoking can improve your health and help with wound healing. It can also help reduce the time that you need to stay in hospital.

If you would like to stop smoking while you are in the hospital, please talk to a member of staff, or contact our stop smoking service on 0800 2889008. We can also organise support and treatment from your local NHS stop smoking service after you leave hospital.

Before discharge

Before you are discharged home, your relatives or carers will be asked to bring your clothes into hospital for you. You will also need to arrange transport with family or a friend or book a taxi. Ambulances will only be arranged if you have a clinical requirement. You will need to make sure you can get into your home and should also ask any questions you have about your care after discharge.

When you are ready to go home, a doctor or nurse will discuss your discharge arrangements with you.

You will be given:

• A supply or any medication you may need
• A letter informing you of any referrals, appointments or tests which have been arranged for you
• A discharge letter (copy will be sent to your GP)
• If you require a district nurse, then this will be arranged for you before you are discharged home

Discharge lounge

Once you are ready to go home, you may be transferred to the discharge lounge.

This is a place where you wait to be collected by your carers, relatives or by an ambulance. Ward staff will arrange for any valuables which were being looked after for you are returned. They will speak with you regarding your discharge letter and about any drugs, medications and dressings you need. They will also make sure any community support you require is in place prior to your discharge and provide contact details for somebody you can contact if you have any questions following your discharge.

Medication

If you are prescribed medication to take following discharge you will be given one week's supply.

If any further medications/dressings/medical supplies are required, you will need to contact your GP to prescribe these for you.

Information about how and when to take your medication is on the bottles or packets supplied. Leaflets explaining any side effects will also be provided.

If you or members of your family have any questions or concerns regarding your medications, please speak to a member of the ward staff.

Fit Notes/Claim forms

Please ask a member of the ward staff about this; they will be able to arrange for fit notes and claim forms to be signed. You may be charged for some claim forms, but the ward will be able to provide you with this information.

Follow up arrangements

If you require a follow up appointment this will either be arranged before you leave the ward, or you will receive and appointment in the post.

Your comments matter

We are very keen to hear your comments about your hospital stay so that we can improve our services and care. You may be contacted and asked to participate in this survey.

You can also contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), to make comments or complaints or to raise concerns. Ask a member of staff to direct you to PALS or call 0161 604 5897.

Café Royal

The Café Royal is situated on the main corridor on the main entrance floor. From breakfast right through to evening meals, the Café Royal offers freshly prepared traditional home cooking, using good quality ingredients, to produce great value and quality food. The Café has a baguette bar, which is very popular with staff and visitors. You choose the bread and filling to create a sandwich that is just how you like it. If you want to grab and go, there is also a great variety of salads and sandwiches ready to go.

Opening times:

Monday to Friday 7:30am – 6pm
Saturday and Sunday 8am to 11am for breakfast only.
Breakfast is served between 7:30am to 10:30am Monday to Friday.

The Shop

At the main entrance of the hospital, there is a Marks & Spencer shop selling a selection of food and drink and other items. There is also a cash machine opposite.

Patient and visitor parking charges

Car parking charges apply on all our hospital sites.

Spiritual healthcare team

Our spiritual healthcare team supports people of all faiths, as well as those who do not have a particular belief. We have chapels and quiet rooms for prayer and meditation. The spiritual healthcare team would be glad to come and see you – please ask your nurse or phone 0161 778 5259.

A Christian chapel is available to all in Chalmers Keddie for those who wish to pray or be quiet. The facility is open from 6am – 6pm due to its location. We also offer Muslim prayer room with a women’s area, which is open 24 hours.

Translation and Interpretation Service

The Interpretation & Translation Service provides verbal language interpretation services and The British Sign Language for patients with sensory difficulties.