Frederick Salmon Ward: 020 8235 4190 / 4191 / 4022
Intestinal Rehabilitation Unit: 020 8869 2492 / 2494

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Arriving at St Mark’s

If you arrive at St Mark’s for your inpatient stay and aren’t sure where to go, a member of staff at our main reception desk will be happy to help you.

Consent and Personal Information

During your hospital stay, you will be given as much information as possible by the staff involved in your treatment. No procedures will be carried out without your consent, and you have the right to withdraw consent at any time. For patients deemed incapable of giving consent, staff will do their best to contact a next of kin of advocate. No treatment will be carried out without consent except in emergency situations.

If you have any questions, please do speak to your doctors/nurses to ensure that you fully understand your condition and treatment options.

You may be asked to give information about yourself, including 24 hour contact details for the person you would like to be contacted in an emergency e.g. your wife, husband, partner, friend or relative. If you change your GP or your home address, please contact us so we can update our records.

Presence of Students

St Mark’s is a teaching hospital; you may be asked if you would like to take part in teaching activities for medical students. While this would of course be very appreciated by the hospital, you are under no obligation to take part; please do let the staff know of your preferences.

Leaving St Mark’s

In order for your stay to be as calm and stress-free as possible, plans for going home should be discussed before or at the beginning of your stay. You will be kept up to date about your progress and plans for discharge by the doctor or nurse caring for you.

On the day of your discharge, the staff on the ward will make sure you are given the appropriate information about; further treatment, necessary after-care for your condition, any new medication you may need to take, and appointment details for outpatient appointments you may need to attend.

You should also think about transport home after your stay, and whether you can be collected by friends, family or carers. If you are discharged in the morning and cannot be collected until the afternoon, we have a discharge lounge where you can wait. This is a comfortable area, staffed by our nurses.

Mealtimes

During meals we like to stop everything we’re doing to make sure your friend or relative is eating properly. Some wards have dedicated mealtime volunteers, too.

You’re welcome to stay during mealtimes but we ask that you save your questions until mealtime is over and encourage your friend to eat.

Meal times vary slightly between each ward. Meals are served between:

• Breakfast: 8pm – 9am
• Lunch: 12noon – 2.30pm
• Supper: 5.30pm – 7pm

Hot drinks are served at regular times throughout the day, and with/after meals. If you miss a meal, snacks and drinks are readily available throughout the day; please ask your nurse. There is a full choice of menu which includes vegetarian and special diets. If you have particular dietary requirements, please let the staff know.

Protected Meal Times

A protected meal time policy is in operation on wards, which means that clinical interventions (ward rounds and therapy) will not take place during meal times.

Visitors

We would like to make your visit to St Mark’s Hospital as easy as possible. In order to maintain a calm, relaxed atmosphere on the wards we prefer to allow only two visitors at any one time. However, special permission to allow more visitors may be granted by the nurse in charge. There is a patients’ day lounge on Frederick Salmon Ward where patients and all visitors are welcome; hot drinks are available here.

If a friend or member of your family has had a cough, cold, stomach upset, or condition that may be infectious please ask them not to visit until they are well again. All visitors are requested to use the hand gel provided at the Hospital’s entrance and on the wards.

Visiting Times

Visitors to St Mark’s Frederick Salmon Ward and the Intestinal Rehabilitation Unit are more than welcome between the hours of 1100 – 1200, and between the hours of 1300 – 2000. For full details of visiting hours at general wards and Northwick Park Hospital, visit the North West London Hospital Trust website.

Patients should also be aware that you may be undergoing investigations during the day, and so we would advise that your friends or relatives telephone the ward prior to setting out on a long journey.

Flowers

St Mark’s does not allow flowers due to infection reasons. Please be aware of this as a visitor; if you are a patient, please ensure your visitors know this.

What to bring

The following is a useful checklist of some items you may need during your stay with us, and some items we would ask you not to bring into the hospital.

Please bear in mind that while each patient will have bedside cabinet, these cannot be locked. St Mark’s and Northwick Park Hospitals are unable to accept liability for any lost or stolen items during your stay.

If you have any personal or valuable items with you, you can give these to a nurse on your ward who will give you a receipt.