Life on the wards
From admission to discharge: times and useful information
Upon arrival at the ward, patients are welcomed by the nursing staff, who will orient them about the ward, and give them their bed assignment.
Beds are assigned based of the patient’s condition, the layout of the ward and availability at the time of arrival.
Members of staff can be identified by their ID cards which are visible at all times. Their uniforms indicate their different roles: Nursing staff wear a green uniform; trainees wear a beige uniform, and physiotherapists wear a blue uniform. Members of auxiliary staff wear a white uniform, while volunteers wear an orange vest. Internal transportation staff (ATI), who move and accompany inpatients within the hospital structure, wear a grey uniform.
Students from the UCBM Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University also frequent the wards.
We provide a personalized diet for each patient. Meals are transported through the hospital in closed trolleys and served on trays, in ceramic plates, with steel cutlery, glasses, and cloth napkins. They are transported in thermal containers for optimal hygiene during transport and to maintain the correct temperature. The hospital ensures that all patients can respect their religion’s dietary practices in choosing their meals.
Breakfast: from 8 am (7.30 am for day-surgery)
Lunch time: from 12.30 pm
Dinner time: from 7 pm
UCBM Hospital is committed to ensuring a comfortable and appropriate environment. For this reason, we ask for the cooperation of all patients and visitors in respecting a few simple rules:
- avoid loud noise and encourage friendliness towards other patients and staff
- wear suitable clothes when moving outside your room, avoiding when possible wearing pyjamas and robes except at night
- assure that your visitors are no more than two at a time, and that they respect ward visiting hours
- Ordinary inpatients: weekdays 4 pm to 7 pm; weekends and holidays 12 pm to 2 pm and 4 pm to 7 pm
- Intensive care: daily, 5.30 pm to 7 pm
- Hematology: daily 12 pm to 2 pm and 6 pm to 8 pm
Children under 12 are not allowed on the wards.
To find out which ward a patient is in, visitors can contact the staff at the Reception Desk in the hospital main lobby and in the lobby at the Health Care Centre for the Elderly.
The discharge date is determined in advance by a ward physician, to allow the patient to make the necessary arrangements. In some cases, the discharge assessment will include the need for continued care at home, arranged by the hospital before discharge. Upon discharge, patients receive a letter for their GP, containing their diagnosis and the most significant test results, prescribed treatment and dietary rules.
Medication for continued treatment (newly prescribed medications needed for one week of treatment, with the exception of therapeutic oxygen and medication prescribed “as needed”) are dispensed at the Pharmacy on the ground floor of the hospital, Monday through Saturday, between 12 pm and 1 pm. Alternatively, a prescription is issued for the patient to have filled locally.
Bookings for follow-up appointments scheduled within 30 days after discharge can be made on the ground floor, at the Admissions Office, prior to leaving the hospital.