Memo to Heather Richardson and Jenifer Cameron

							                               Patient information


Welcome to St Joseph’s. We hope you will be comfortable and happy here.

This booklet will tell you a lot about your time here but, please, just ask us if
there is something else you need to know.


How will you help me to cope with my condition?
Our doctors, nurses and therapists will provide the best care and treatment for
you. They have expertise in controlling pain and other symptoms and will help
you to be as comfortable as possible.

You have a call button beside you which will bring help when you need it and
you will be visited every day by the doctor on the ward.

The Wellspring Centre offers a range of complementary therapies to patients,
which many feel to be beneficial. These are; aromatherapy, massage,
reflexology and relaxation.

The physiotherapy team will also be available to help you.


Who can visit?
Your family and friends can visit whenever you want to see them. Certain
times of day are busier on the ward, around mealtimes or first thing in the
morning and visitors may wish to avoid those.

There is a bedroom on each ward where a very close relative may be able to
stay overnight if you would like that. It may be that other families also want to
use the room so please speak to the nurse in charge to confirm availability. If
a close member of your family would like to stay in your room overnight we
can provide a recliner chair to make them comfortable.

If you have young children visiting you, there is a small play area on the ward
with toys to entertain them. Very young children, those under three years of
age, should not be left alone.

If you would like your pet to visit you that can usually be arranged as long as
no discomfort or distress is caused to other patients; for example dogs must
be kept on leads. Please discuss a visit with the nurse in charge.


In your room

Please bring with you, or arrange to have brought, a change of clothes and
night clothes. You will also need your own toiletries. Your family or friends
should take your clothes away to be laundered.
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You can make and receive calls from your bed. You will be provided with a
free phone card so there is no cost when you make a call. If you should need
more phone cards, you can buy them from the ward clerk at £5 each.

To make an outgoing call, first press 9 then use the free phone number shown
on the card. Then use the free phone number under the scratch panel on the
card and finally dial the number you wish to call, including the full national
dialling code. To make a follow on call or to cancel a call, press #.

Your post will be delivered to you each morning, and we can arrange to post
your outgoing letters.

To make you feel at home, you may wish to bring small things with you; some
photographs, a cushion, a picture, or whatever: just check first with the nurse.

Your television is over your bed and may be used as you wish.

TV Channels at St Joseph’s

Channel      Programme

1            BBC 1

2            BBC2

3            ITV 1

4            Channel 4

5            Channel 5

6            ITV 2

7            ITV News

8            BBC News 24

9            UK History

10           QVC

11           BBC 3

12           BBC 4

13           CBBC

14           CBEEBIES




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15           The Hits

Each ward has a laptop computer with internet access so please ask a nurse
if you would like to use it. It is free to use but must be disconnected after 59
minutes and then re connected to ensure free use.

Your fridge is beside your bed in your locker.

If the room gets too hot, there will be a fan to help keep you cool.

There is a shower room with toilet attached to each room.


Around the ward
In addition to the bedrooms, each ward has a small quiet sitting room with
comfortable armchairs, if you are able to get up and would like to sit there with
your visitors. Just ask the nurse first to make sure that it is free for you at the
time you want it.

While no smoking is allowed on the ward, there is a sitting room where
smoking is permitted. This is only for the use of patients.

If you need or would like to have a bath, there is a special bath and shower on
each ward which will be suited to your needs. You will be given all the help
you need to enjoy your bath or shower.

Each ward has books, board games, jig-saw puzzles which you might want to
borrow. Hackney Library visits regularly with a choice of books and audio
books.

Daily newspapers and magazines are available to buy. The porter can place
an order for you if you would like a specific paper. There is a designated area
in the garden where visitors may go to smoke. Visitors should ask ward staff
or at reception for directions.


Can I go home?
Many people come to St Joseph’s to have their symptoms or pain treated and
controlled and, when that has been achieved, they return home. Each
person’s circumstances are different but if you would like to go home, please
talk this over with the doctor or nurse caring for you.


People on the wards
A great number of volunteers help to support the services of the Hospice, and
many of them come to visit the patients on the ward. They are here to keep
you company, to go to get things you need from the shop, to take you round




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the building or into the garden in a wheel chair if you feel like it. Please ask
the ward staff if you would like some help from a volunteer.


Help you might need
St Joseph’s has its own chaplaincy team which represents many of the major
faiths. Someone from the chaplaincy team will be on the ward each day and
will always have time to spend with you if you would like that. Please tell us if
you have particular needs and arrangements will be made to get the help you
want.

If you have any anxieties about practical things, like pensions, state benefits
and allowances, making a will or worries about how your family is managing,
our social work team is here to talk through your worries and to give you
practical help.


Is there a charge?
The care you receive at St Joseph’s is completely free. The only money you
may need is for small out-of-pocket expenses at the coffee shop or things like
that. Any small amounts of money you bring can be safely locked away by
your bedside. We would advise you not to bring valuables to St Joseph’s but if
this is unavoidable, we can store small things in our safe.


If I get restless can I leave the ward at all?
Yes, but please let a nurse know what you are doing in case of an emergency
like a fire alarm. If you feel strong enough, and if you cannot easily walk, there
will usually be somebody – a nurse or a volunteer – to take you around the
Hospice in a wheelchair.

Downstairs on the ground floor you will find:

      The Courtyard Café with plenty of comfortable chairs. It is a tea/coffee
       bar and a shop selling sweets, sandwiches and soft drinks to teddy
       bears and magazines. You will also find a pay phone there.

      A Quiet room, for prayer, or just for reading by yourself.

      Convenient toilets

      On warm days you may enjoy sitting out in the Hospice Garden, which
       has a fish-pond, a lawn, and a lovely variety of flowerbeds, the flowers
       changing with the seasons.

Other places in the Hospice you may like to visit are:




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      The beautiful Chapel on the first floor, to sit quietly in prayer, or to
       attend one of the religious services.

      The Day Hospice, where staff will help you with any of the many
       activities available – jigsaw puzzles, jewellery-making, painting, clay-
       modelling, depending on what the day’s programme. There are also
       concerts to be enjoyed here, and always a cup of tea or coffee and
       companionship.


Will I like the food?
We hope you will enjoy the freshly prepared food we serve at St Joseph’s.
You will be able to choose from the menu each day. Please tell us if you have
special needs or if there is something you’d particularly like and we will do our
best to arrange it. We cater for separately prepared Kosher, Halal and
Caribbean dishes. There is a choice of all meals, including vegetarian
choices, but the catering team will try to meet your needs if you would like
something different and can offer a range of light dishes like omelettes and
toasted snacks throughout the day.

We are not able to reheat food brought in by families.

Each evening you will be offered an alcoholic or hot drink.


About St Joseph’s
St Joseph’s Hospice serves the east and north of London, an area of around
1.5 million people. St Joseph’s provides in-patient services as well as caring
for many people in their own homes. Additionally there is a range of support
services including Bereavement support, the Children’s Bereavement Service
and Social Work department.

St Joseph’s is a charity which depends on the generous support of
companies, individuals and organisations to fund its services. It costs
£12million each year to run St Joseph’s of which £4 million comes from
statutory bodies. The remaining £8 million each year must be raised through
the generosity of supporters, some of whom remember St Joseph’s in their
will.


Your suggestions
We would welcome any thoughts or comments you have about our service.
There are comment boxes on each ward where you may post your thoughts
or suggestions.


What do I do if I need to make a complaint?




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If you feel that St Joseph’s has failed you in any way, please speak first of all
to your Ward Manager, who will do his or her best to satisfy you. If necessary,
you may take your complaint to St Joseph’s Director of Care Services; it is
best if you can put your complaint in writing.
A copy of the Hospice’s formal complaints policy which outlines how you
should proceed is in your locker.


Formal policies
We are required by the Healthcare Commission Standards to provide you with a copy of our Research
Policy and Procedure for Processing Requests for Access to Patients’ Data. There is also a Feedback on
Services for Patients and Visitors leaflet which you may wish to complete.




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