Vistors charter—outpatients

Patients with an outpatient appointment may bring one person with them to the appointment. Exceptions to this must be discussed and agreed with the nurse in charge or head of the outpatients department.

We want to work with you to support you and the person who is attending their outpatient appointment as much as possible. Please help us by following our requests that we have set out in our visitors’ charter.

Staff

We will:

  • Be polite and professional to you at all times
  • Be supportive of family, next of kin and carers who wish to participate in the care of the person attending an outpatient appointment
  • Use our skills to prioritise the planning of care to our patients and communicate our decisions
  • Do our best to create a calm and restful environment to help patients relax and recover
  • Do all we can to protect patients and visitors from infection—on occasions this may result in restricting patients from bringing someone with them to their outpatient appointment
  • Keep patients, staff and visitors safe by acting when we see that measures put in place to reduce risk to ourselves or others are not complied with—if necessary, this may include issuing warnings to those who consistently refuse to comply with Chelsea and Westminster policies, processes and procedures
  • Work hard to provide a clean hospital
  • Provide the necessary care to all patients within our department
  • Be respectful to each patient and ensure we understand different family circumstances, including on occasion the need for patients to bring their children with them to their outpatient’s appointment
  • Be open and honest with you—sometimes it is not appropriate to allow children into the outpatient department
  • We will aim to keep patients up to date with the waiting times for their appointment

Visitors

We ask you to:

  • Be polite and courteous to staff, other patients and visitors at all times
  • Do not be offended if a member of staff asks you to leave for a short time, as there will be occasions when privacy and dignity need to be maintained for the person you are with and other patients within the vicinity
  • Be respectful—our patients are poorly and vulnerable so please keep noise to a minimum and put your phone on silent
  • Comply with all infection control measures outlined on our website and highlighted to you via signage or by our staff
  • You will be asked to use the hand sanitisers provided and you might be required to wear a face mask
  • You must not visit the hospital if you are:
    • Unwell—especially if you have a high temperature or a new, persistent cough
    • Unwell and have had diarrhoea and vomiting within the previous 24 hours
  • Do not use the patient toilets or bathrooms—please ask a member of staff the directions to the public facilities
  • COVID triage screening questionnaire—please comply if you are asked to complete COVID-19 patient/visitor screening questionnaire by reception/nursing staff
  • Consider the impact of your actions and behaviour on the person that you with, other patients and visitors and our staff
  • Be considerate to staff if you are asked to change the way you are acting or behaving
  • Do not bring food for your own consumption—staff will be happy to direct you to the nearest restaurant facilities
  • Do not smoke or use e-cigarettes within the hospital—ask a member of staff for directions to a designated smoking area
  • Please be aware that you will be asked to leave if a medical emergency occurs
  • Please do not disturb the nursing staff if they are attending to another patient
  • Rest and a quiet environment is important—please ensure that you do not make excessive noise when in the hospital
  • Please discuss children attending with you for your appointment with the department manager
  • Please be respectful if we inform you that children cannot accompany you
  • If children accompany you, please ensure they are quiet and well-behaved when in the clinical environment
  • If children accompany you, please ensure they follow infection control guidance
  • Please ensure children do not run around when in a clinical environment and ensure you are always fully responsible for them 
  • If children do not follow the above requirements, we will ask that they leave—if this happens, please be respectful of our decision and understand why we are making this choice.
  • Be respectful to staff and understand that they are ensuring that patients get seen as quickly as possible
  • If you have any concerns, please raise these in a calm and polite manner
Contributors
George Vasilopoulos