Call 4 Concern© is a safety service for inpatients, their families, friends and carers across Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.
It empowers you to take an active role in the care being provided during your or a loved one’s stay in hospital. We recognise that patients and their relatives may know when their condition, or that of a loved one, is getting worse before staff or monitoring systems (such as blood pressure machines) are aware.
If you feel that your, or a loved one’s, condition has worsened and the healthcare team have not taken your concerns seriously, Call 4 Concern© can provide help and advice. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For further information, ask your nurse for a copy of the Call 4 Concern© leaflet or read more here.
Security operates across all hospital sites 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trust Security staff wear a uniform that identifies them as security and their main role is to patrol the hospital and grounds, prevent and detect offences, provide reassurance and assist staff when necessary.
Read more about security across the Trust here.
If a fire alarm sounds, please follow any instructions that the ward staff give you. They will tell you if the area needs to be evacuated and what to do.
If you are away from the ward when it happens, please ask a member of hospital staff for advice.
Please note that fire alarms are tested every Wednesday morning on each of our hospital sites. If you are unsure whether the fire alarm is a test or not, please check with a member of staff.
We may use specialist equipment to move or lift you comfortably and safely.
Please note that our staff are not allowed to lift you without using the appropriate equipment.
Some people find it difficult to rest and sleep in hospital, especially when there are other people around or if they can hear noises from machines on the ward.
We appreciate that a good night’s sleep is essential to aid recovery and a return to health.
If you are struggling to rest or sleep, or you are disturbed by noise at night, please tell your nurse, as they may be able to help.
We have introduced nighttime standards after feedback from patients highlighted difficulties with falling and staying asleep due to wards being too noisy and brightly lit.
During your stay:
- the main ward lights should be turned down by 10pm
- nursing staff should check that you have access to your bedside light, eye mask and ear plugs
- window curtains should be fully closed between 10pm and 7.30am
- you should be offered a hot drink (if appropriate) before bedtime
- staff conversation should be held away from patient areas, and volume kept to a minimum
- buzzer and telephone volumes should be lowered between 10pm and 7am
- patients should only be moved after 10pm if absolutely necessary.
Moving around an unfamiliar environment can increase your risk of falling over. Please use your call bell if you need help when walking.
Falls can also be caused by certain medical conditions, poor eyesight, joint pain, or dizziness.
If you normally use a mobility aid (such as a stick, crutches, wheelchair, or frame), please keep using it in hospital, unless a member of staff advises you not to.
We do want you to continue to get up and move as your condition allows. This will help you to maintain your mobility (ability to move around) and reduce the risk of complications during your hospital stay.
When you are feeling well enough, we will encourage you to get out of bed and get dressed. Please ask your relatives or friends to bring you some comfortable clothes and shoes with non-slip soles
We will assess your risk of developing blood clots (often referred to as DVT or deep vein thrombosis, and PE or pulmonary embolism) at the start of your stay.
We may give you special thigh-or knee-high stockings to wear to reduce your risk.
A pressure ulcer is damage to the skin and the tissues underneath the skin. A nurse will assess your risk of developing pressure ulcers while you are on the ward.
If you feel vulnerable or at risk of harm in any way, or if you are worried about someone else who may be at risk, please speak to a member of staff. They can refer or signpost you to someone who can help.
Cigarette smoking is not permitted anywhere inside Hampshire Hospitals or within the hospital grounds.
E-cigarettes (vapes) must not be used indoors, but they are permitted outside, well away from entrances, exits, and windows.
Please speak to your nurse if you would like to receive nicotine replacement therapy during your stay.
For help to give up smoking, ask your nurse to refer you to one of our tobacco dependency advisors. They will support you while you are in hospital and refer you to a smoking cessation service.
If you are a smoker and coming into hospital for surgery, we strongly recommend that you stop smoking and/or vaping, or at least cut down before your operation. This is because you are more likely to get a chest infection if you smoke or vape. The nicotine in cigarettes and vapes can also affect wound and bone healing.
For help with quitting smoking, contact Smokefree Hampshire on 0800 772 3649 or click here to visit their website.
Our staff expect to be treated with respect and should be able to come to work without fear of violence, abuse or harassment from patients or their relatives.
Any behaviour of this type is unacceptable.
In most cases, patients and their relatives are appreciative towards those who treat them. However, a minority of people are abusive or violent towards our staff.
At Hampshire Hospitals, we take action against violence, aggression, or abuse of our staff.
