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About our wards
Visiting| | Flowers| | Cleanliness| | No smoking| | Security| | Fire policy|
We are now part of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. For information about wards in our hospitals, including telephone numbers, visiting times and visitor information, please use the links below.
For what to expect during your stay with us, please see:
Daily routine
There is a busy daily ward routine. You may find you are woken earlier than you are used to at home. The hospital day involves patients receiving medication or needing their blood pressure or temperature taken, often in the early morning. When it comes to settling down at night it is likely to be earlier than at home, as many patients feel particularly tired at the end of the day and want to settle early. The main lights will be switched off, but there is a reading lamp next to your bed.
Safe moving and handling
You may experience some difficulty in moving yourself about because of your surgery or illness. However, lifting and handling patients as part of their treatment or care has resulted in many staff being injured.
Due to legislation and our professional guidance, all hospital staff must avoid physically lifting and moving patients as much as possible. Your own immobility can also lead to other health problems such as chest infections or pressure sores, which may increase the length of time you are in hospital.
We will therefore encourage you to increase and maintain your independence by helping you to do as much as you can yourself.
If you do need further help to move, we will use special equipment that makes moving safer, easier and less uncomfortable both for you and for staff. We will explain how the equipment works and any actions you need to carry out.
We will regularly assess your ability to move and make a plan, with you, to help you to move safely. Please feel free to ask questions or let us know of any worries you have.
If you have any comments or complaints about your stay with us, please see:
The Trust has wards in all of its hospitals and we welcome patients' visitors. Details of visiting times and other information about visiting can be found in our ward listings in this section.
Quiet times and ward rounds vary from ward to ward and it would be helpful if visits could be avoided during these times. If in doubt, please contact the ward before you visit.
For general contact information please see:
For individual ward details, please see contact details for our wards here:
Please note that visiting outside the specified hours is at the discretion of the Ward Manager and arrangements would need to be made in advance. Whilst we try to ensure that the published visiting times are correct, it is always advisable to confirm them with the staff on the ward.
Patients sometimes feel that they are getting too many visitors. If this is a problem for you, then please speak to your nurse.
If a relative or friend, with your agreement, wants to speak to a doctor about your care or treatment, please ask your nurse to arrange an appointment. If an interpreter is needed, please tell your nurse.
Unfortunately some wards are unable to allow patients to receive flowers. Wards which are not able to accept flowers include surgical and critical care. If you wish to give flowers, we recommend that you check with the ward you are visiting beforehand.
Many wards specify their flower regulations in the listings on the left hand menu.
We take cleanliness and hygiene very seriously in our wards. If you are concerned about any cleanliness issues, please tell your nurse.
We have a dedicated team of Infection Control nurses and doctors to give advice on minimising the risks of infection occurring in individual patients, and on preventing the spread of infection between them.
A really simple – but effective – method to prevent infection is good hand hygiene, and the Trust is a supporter of the national cleanyourhands| campaign. Effective hand hygiene can prevent the transfer of infection from one patient to another, and alcohol rub gel can be found at bedsides as well as at the entrance to the wards; staff should have their own dispenser.
You are encouraged to ask all healthcare workers to clean their hands before carrying out any care.
If you would like more information about cleanyourhands, please ask one of our nurses for an information leaflet, or visit the cleanyourhands| website.
For the health and safety of all patients and staff, smoking is not allowed within the hospital or near entrances.
If you smoke but would like to stop, there are nurses who work in the hospital who can help you.
Security staff ensure the safety of patients and staff within the hospital and its grounds. All staff should wear an identity badge. If you don't know who someone is, please ask. The Trust is equipped with both internal and external closed circuit TV cameras which are monitored from the Security Control Room. Security staff patrol the hospital, grounds and car parks during the day and night.
All staff are trained in fire and evacuation procedures. In the unlikely event of a fire, nursing staff will take control of the situation and coordinate any necessary action. Patients and their visitors are requested to follow instructions given to them by staff in the event of any emergency.