Neurosurgery Clinic - Other information regarding inpatient care | CLINICAL CENTRE

Discharge of patients:
Before a patient may be discharged sutures are removed, the wound is cared for and dressed.

All patients discharged or transferred from the hospital receive a discharge summary (2 copies) and a certificate about their hospital stay. An acknowledgement of receipt has to be signed by the patient if in a condition to do so.

The discharge summary contains a description of the examinations and treatments including post treatment examinations. There is also a section with recommendations for home care as well as information on any necessary check-up.

If patients leave for home, they need to show their discharge summary to their GP within 24-48 hours so that the necessary treatment can be continued at home without any interruption and necessary medications may be prescribed.

Other:
Visiting at the hospital
Visiting rules make it possible for relatives to visit the patient daily if they choose. No visiting is allowed during the treatment, care and examination of patients or during rounds. Only two visitors should be present with a patient at any one time. Visitors at night are only allowed for patients in a critical condition. Underage children are only allowed if supervised. Because of contamination on civilian clothes visitors are not to sit on the bedside of patients. In order to prevent infections no potted plants are allowed, and surgery wards do not allow cut flowers either. Visiting can be restricted if needed (for example, during a flu epidemic)

Keeping contact by phone
Each unit within the institute can be contacted directly through their contact phone numbers.

Inpatients can initiate external telephone calls from public phone booths or from their mobile phones.  
Information about a patient’s condition can only be provided over the phone if the patient allows. The ward nurse can only provide general information. Patients may not be contacted using the phone numbers of the ward.
Mobile phones are not allowed in the examination or treatment rooms nor in areas of diagnostics because they might interfere with electronic devices.

Correspondence
The ward nurse is ready to help patients with keeping contact with the outside world by correspondence.

Informing relatives
Patients can decide who and to what extent a person might have access to their medical information. Only immediate relatives can obtain information about the condition of unconscious or underage patients. It is the responsibility of the Head of Ward to decide which doctor(s) of the ward, in what cases and to what extent information may be provided to the patients’ relatives. This doctor will be liable for the information provided from a professional and ethical point of view. Other health care professionals can only provide general information regarding the patients’ condition. It is a basic rule that no information is to be provided about health conditions over the phone unless the caller can be unequivocally identified.

Food and meals
Food brought by patients themselves or by visitors can be stored in the fridge on the ward. The food must be labelled with the patient’s name.

The time of meals is set in the rules of the ward. Patients arriving during the day are entitled to have lunch or dinner depending on the time of their admission. Only breakfast is provided on the day of discharge.

TV, radio, smoking, drinking
Smoking and drinking are strictly forbidden in inpatient wards; smoking is only possible in areas designated for smoking; watching television and listening to the radio loudly is only permitted if it does not disturb other patients and they allow it.