• Reference Number: HEY-897/2020
• Departments: Cardiology
• Last Updated: 24 July 2020

Welcome to Cardiology Day Ward, we want your stay to be as comfortable and pleasant as possible.  Please let the staff know any requirements you may need during your stay.

Telephone Numbers:

There is minimal mobile phone signal on the ward and at Castle Hill Hospital.  You are welcome to use the ward telephone for a brief time to contact your family to pick you up.  However, please ask first before using the telephone as we may be waiting for incoming calls.

Please ask one family member only to enquire about you and we ask they ring after 2pm  if you have been admitted at 07.30am  or 4.00pm if you are admitted at 11:00am.

Please avoid ringing between 5.00pm – 6.00pm as this is evening meal time on the ward

Visiting Times:

The day ward has no afternoon visiting. Evening visiting only 6.00pm – 7.30pm.

Strictly only two visitors to a bed at any one time. 

Please ask the nurse looking after your relative if you can bring in small children.  We do not allow relatives on the ward during the day.  However, sometimes we do have patients that need Language Translators or carers, which are allowed depending on clinical need.

Cancellation:

If you are unwell on the day of admission and feel unfit to have your procedure or have experienced; diarrhoea, vomiting or had a  chest infection in the 3 days before having your procedure please inform the Cardiology Day Ward as soon as possible.   If your procedure has to be cancelled due to illness, you will also need to contact the cardiology secretaries to rebook your admission.  The staff on the ward do not book appointments so cannot help you with this.

Medication:

You will be advised at pre-assessment if you need to bring in ll your medications when you come into hospital to have your procedure. If you do need to bring them with you these must be in their original packaging as they will be needed for ALL overnight stays.  Please bring in all insulin including; syringes, pens and needles.  Unless otherwise informed please take all your usual medication on the morning of your procedure.

Warfarin / DOACs (Direct oral anticoagulants):

If you are taking warfarin the nurse practitioner will discuss with you when you need to stop taking it.

Please book an INR appointment the day before admission and bring the result with you on admission and book a further INR appointment for 5 – 7 days after discharge.  Please bring in all yellow warfarin books or dosage letters from the surgery which states your current dose.  If we do not know your current INR, your procedure may be delayed on the day until we have one.

If you are taking a DOAC e.g. Rivaroxaban, Apixaban, Edoxaban or Dabigatran, the Nurse Practitioner will give you instructions when you need to stop taking it.

Eating and Drinking:

During the day the Cardiology Day Ward can only offer sandwiches and snacks.  However, you will be offered a hot evening meal at 5.00pm.  Please inform the staff if you have any dietary requirements or food allergies.

If you are having a Defibrillator implanted you may not have anything to eat or drink for 6 hours before the procedure:

If your admission is 7.30am you cannot have anything to eat or drink after 2.00am.  If your admission is 11.00am, you may eat a light breakfast before 7.00am and then nothing to eat or drink after this time.  If you are a diabetic on insulin and you need to be ‘Nil By Mouth’ you will have been given instructions in the pre-assessment clinic.

For all other procedures you may eat and drink normally.  Please do have something to eat and drink before you are admitted.

Equipment:

Please bring in any equipment that you may need for your stay, e.g. catheter bags, wound dressings, stoma bags, CPAP machines, zimmer frames, walking sticks and all insulin pens and needles.

Procedure:

If you are admitted at 7.30am your procedure will take place on the morning list between 9.00am -12:30pm.  If you are admitted at 11:00am your procedure will take place on the afternoon list between 1.00pm – 5.00pm.

Please be aware your procedure may be delayed due to emergencies.

All procedures are done as a Day Case and you will go home following a recovery period after the procedure providing you are well enough.

If you are having a Defibrillator or Pacemaker implanted for the first time and live alone we recommend, where possible, having a relative or friend to stay with you overnight as discussed at pre-assessment

For ALL admissions please bring a small overnight bag with toiletries, nightwear, slippers or footwear and medications.

Other things you may like to bring are a book, newspaper, magazine or Kindle.  We also have a day room where you are welcome to sit and watch TV whilst you wait for your procedure to take place.

Your procedure will take place under a local anaesthetic unless you have been advised otherwise at pre-assessment.

Please remove all makeup, nail varnish and jewellery prior to admission.  Wedding rings are allowed and will be covered with tape before the procedure. Please shower and wash as instructed on the leaflet before admission.  Gentlemen are also asked to shave the top left-hand area of the chest prior to admission.

Discharge:

Day case patients will be discharged on the same day of admission.   If you are staying overnight we will aim to discharge you the next day between 10.30am – 11.30am.

Before discharge your Defibrillator or Pacemaker will be checked by the ECG department and following that an X-ray will be performed.  Once these tests are deemed satisfactory you will be allowed home.  You will be given full information regarding wound care and recovery instructions on discharge.  You may need some extra help at home for support in the first few weeks after discharge following implantation of a defibrillator of pacemaker.

We advise you bring blouses, shirts and cardigans rather than t-shirts and jumpers to change into after your procedure as arm movements on the side the device has been implanted on will be restricted for a time (the exact amount of time will be discussed on discharge as it differs for each procedure).

Transport:

It is your responsibility to make your own way to and from the hospital as we do not  routinely offer hospital transport.  If you are unable to get a lift home from relatives or friends, we are happy for you to get a taxi home, however, we do not allow patients to go home on public transport.  Relatives can drop you off and pick you up at the drop off point at the front of the Cardiac Building.

Many of our patients live out of town, therefore if you cannot make your own travel arrangements, please contact your own doctor who will provide advice regarding hospital transport as not all patients are eligible for NHS transport. Please inform the nurse on admission if you are on transport so she can arrange your return journey.

The postcode for Castle Hill Hospital is:  HU16 5JQ.  Follow the road down Entrance 1 until you come to a roundabout, if you go straight over the roundabout you will see the Cardiology Building on the right hand side.  The ward is located on the ground floor.  Please follow the signs for the Cardiology Day Ward and report to the second reception desk at the far end of the right side of the corridor.

General Advice and Consent

Most of your questions should have been answered by this leaflet, but remember that this is only a starting point for discussion with the healthcare team.

Consent to treatment

Before any doctor, nurse or therapist examines or treats you, they must seek your consent or permission. In order to make a decision, you need to have information from health professionals about the treatment or investigation which is being offered to you. You should always ask them more questions if you do not understand or if you want more information.

The information you receive should be about your condition, the alternatives available to you, and whether it carries risks as well as the benefits. What is important is that your consent is genuine or valid. That means:

• you must be able to give your consent
• you must be given enough information to enable you to make a decision
• you must be acting under your own free will and not under the strong influence of another person

Information about you

We collect and use your information to provide you with care and treatment. As part of your care, information about you will be shared between members of a healthcare team, some of whom you may not meet. Your information may also be used to help train staff, to check the quality of our care, to manage and plan the health service, and to help with research. Wherever possible we use anonymous data.

We may pass on relevant information to other health organisations that provide you with care. All information is treated as strictly confidential and is not given to anyone who does not need it. If you have any concerns please ask your doctor, or the person caring for you.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 we are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any information we hold about you. For further information visit the following page: Confidential Information about You.

If you or your carer needs information about your health and wellbeing and about your care and treatment in a different format, such as large print, braille or audio, due to disability, impairment or sensory loss, please advise a member of staff and this can be arranged.