Patient Experience
This patient information booklet will help advise you of the services and resources that are available to you as an inpatient in St James’s Hospital.
About us
St James’s Hospital is Ireland’s largest acute academic teaching hospital and is based in Dublin’s south inner city. Our fundamental purpose is the delivery of health treatment, care and diagnosis as well as health promotion and preventative services at local, regional and national levels. Our academic partner is Trinity College Dublin.
We provide acute, emergency, specialist services and residential care across a vast range of medical and surgical specialties and place a high emphasis on excellence of delivery, research, innovation and education.
St James’s Hospital is committed to improving the health outcomes and experiences of its patients through the leadership of staff and by working with our partners in healthcare.
Once your name is added to a waiting list for admission by a doctor, you will be offered a provisional date for your surgery/ procedure. A letter with all relevant information will be sent to you, including the date for your admission to St James’s Hospital. This date is subject to change, depending on bed availability on the day. You will be asked to contact the Bed Management Department (phone number will be provided) at 11am on the day you are due to be admitted. This is to allow us to:
Due to the high volume of emergency admissions to the hospital, it is possible that a bed may not be available for you. If this happens, we will work with your healthcare team to have your surgery/procedure rescheduled as early as possible. Please note that every effort will be made to facilitate your admission as planned.
If your planned surgery is scheduled for the same day as your admission, it is important to arrive at the time specified to you and that you have followed the appropriate pre-admission instructions i.e. fasting or medication information, as discussed with you by your nurse or doctor.
See: www.stjames.ie/patients/foryourstay/whenyouarrive/
Please do not bring:
Accommodation
You will be accommodated in a four or six-bedded ward. Single rooms are not guaranteed as these are used for clinical reasons, such as where isolation is required for infection prevention and control reasons.
You may be moved to a different bed or ward if your clinical condition changes, or to accommodate other patients’ clinical conditions. This can happen at any time during your stay. Your co-operation is very much valued.
Consent
St James’s Hospital recognises your right to make decisions freely about your treatment and care. Throughout your stay in hospital you will be asked to provide your consent (agreement) to treatments and services. Your healthcare team will provide you with information, explanations and answer your questions in relation to any planned surgeries or procedures; after which you will be asked to give your consent verbally or by signing a form.
If you have questions or would like any
additional information in relation to any aspect of your treatment and care, please ask a member of our staff. You have the right to consent or decline treatments and services offered to you.
Because St James’s Hospital is a teaching hospital and a leading centre for healthcare research, you may be invited to participate in a research project or study. Your consent to specifically participate in research will be sought by the Research Lead and your decision will not impact on your treatment and care.
Know your medicines
Here are a few questions you could ask about your medicines:
During your stay if you have any questions about your medications, please speak with your ward pharmacist.
Protected mealtimes are in place to ensure that when meals are provided, unnecessary interruptions are avoided on the ward. Protected mealtimes mean the nurses and healthcare assistants can give you the time and assistance to eat and drink.
We ask patients to restrict the number of family members telephoning the wards during mealtimes. This is to help you enjoy your food uninterrupted.
Hospital staff will facilitate visiting in pre-arranged circumstances only. We aim to facilitate visits for all patients, in as much as the hospital has the capacity to provide safe and fair visiting.
Please contact the Nurse in Charge on your ward/unit.
Our support staff are notified daily of patients for whom visiting has been arranged for and by whom. No other visitors will be permitted access to the hospital.
Children are not allowed to visit the hospital unless this is discussed and pre-arranged with the Nurse in Charge.
The hospital supports scheduled visiting to protect patients, visitors and staff and to ensure that the hospital can continue to provide vital services for all patients.
Ask a member of your family to phone the Nurse Manager of your ward to speak with them or a doctor on your healthcare team. Please let the Nurse Manager know that it is okay for the doctor or nurse to share information with the named family member about your care.
Please ask the ward Nurse Manager if a visit is possible or ask your family member to phone the ward Nurse Manager to enquire when a visit is possible. Your healthcare team will discuss with you and perform a risk assessment prior to making a decision.
The visiting restrictions in place at St James’s Hospital are in line with national guidelines and are constantly under review by hospital management.
These guidelines are subject to the ability of the hospital to manage visiting safely. See: www.stjames.ie/patients/visiting
During this time of restricted visiting, the hospital has arranged a drop-off and collection service for essential items, such as laundry, toiletries or reading materials. Family members/ friends can drop off or collect items at the blue canopy area (see map below) between 12pm-6pm daily. Items received will be delivered to the wards between 4pm - 6.30pm.
If you would like to arrange to send items home, please speak to a nurse on your ward.
Please note that valuable or breakable items cannot be accepted as part of this service. The hospital cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to any personal property at any time.
Items going out from the hospital, such as laundry, will be collected from each ward daily and be brought to the collection point for collection between 12pm – 6pm daily. Due to limited space available, and infection control limitations, any item not collected within 24 hours will be destroyed.
We regret that you cannot have regular visits from family and friends. Please remember that there are other ways to stay in contact with them:
They can send an email to thinkingofyou@stjames.ie and we will print it and deliver it to your bedside. Why not ask them to include pictures too, to help brighten up your day? Your messages will be delivered within 24 hours. Messages received at the weekend or bank holidays will be delivered on the next working day.
How to avoid getting an infection in hospital:
Every effort will be made to prepare you and your family for you going home. Your discharge plan will start from your time of admission and you will be given an estimated date of discharge as soon as it is medically possible to do so. All the healthcare professionals involved in your care plan will work together with you to get you home in a safe and timely manner.
The hospital operates a 24-hour, seven-day service and once you are assessed as medically fit to be discharged, you may be discharged at short notice. It is advisable therefore to think about and plan arrangements for your discharge in advance, such as:
On the day of your discharge you may be transferred to the Patient Flow Lounge while waiting for your discharge arrangements to be completed, or while you wait to be collected. The Patient Flow Lounge is a supervised comfortable waiting area.
On discharge you will receive a discharge summary letter for your GP and, if required, a prescription, outpatient appointment and/ or a medical certificate. If you are unsure or have any concerns about your discharge plan you should talk to your nurse or any of your healthcare team members.
See: www.stjames.ie/patients/whenyouaredischarged
St James’s Hospital’s Smoking Cessation Service is available to all of our patients who wish to stop smoking. Our goal is to provide support and advice to help smokers quit tobacco use for good.
The service is free of charge and includes:
St James’s Hospital is a no smoking or vaping campus. Smokers can avail of nicotine replacement therapy to manage their withdrawal symptoms during their hospital stay. Please ask a member of your healthcare team to refer you to the service or contact our Smoking Cessation Clinical Nurse Specialist, Carmel Doherty at: cdoherty@stjames.ie
The staff at St James’s Hospital aim to provide the highest standard of End of Life Care. The end of life symbol (right) is displayed when a patient is dying or has died in the area or ward. When we see the symbol we are reminded that an intensely personal moment is happening for another patient and their family. Seeing the symbol alerts us to show dignity and respect for them. The symbol is inspired by ancient Irish history and is not associated with any one religion or denomination.
As a hospital, we are proud to show through the rainbow flag, that we are striving to be an LGBTQI+ inclusive community for all patients, visitors and staff. When you see the rainbow colours in the hospital you will know it is a safe space for any person to declare their sexual orientation or gender identity, if they choose to do so.
Your health and wellbeing is our priority. We want your experience in the hospital to be safe and comfortable. Meeting your needs is important and happens best when patients, families and healthcare workers work together. We want to listen to you and learn from your experience.
Your feedback is used to plan our services and make improvements. There are many ways to give feedback. You can give your feedback to:
If you have a compliment, concern or wish to make a complaint, please speak to a staff member or the person in charge of the ward or department. We hope that most issues can be resolved easily and quickly by doing this.
If this is not possible and you want to make a formal complaint you can contact the Patient Experience Office by email, telephone or in writing using the contact details below. The Patient Experience Office works with the hospital’s staff to review the concerns and experiences you report. We will use your feedback to continue doing what we do well and to make improvements where necessary.
Write to:
Complaints Officer
Patient Experience Office
Quality and Safety Improvement Directorate
St James’s Hospital
James Street
Dublin 8
Telephone: (01) 410 3361 / 428 4248
Email: patientfeedback@stjames.ie
See: www.stjames.ie/services/qsid/
At the time of your admission and throughout your hospital stay, you will be asked to provide the name and contact details of a person or persons that you are happy for the hospital to contact in either the event of an emergency or where the hospital needs to inform them about an aspect of your treatment and care.
Staff will ask you for this information by asking you for the name of a ‘contact person’ or perhaps by asking you for the name of your ‘next-of-kin’. The name is likely to be the name of a spouse, partner, child or carer.
Where possible, please provide the name and current contact details of just one single contact person that the hospital can use if needed.
Providing the hospital with one single point of contact helps us to protect your right to privacy. St James’s Hospital cannot legally share your personal or clinical (health) information with any other person without your explicit consent (agreement) to do so. Accordingly, information about you cannot be shared with persons who might call to make enquiries about you.
When in hospital you can further protect your privacy by asking family members and/ or friends to direct any queries that they have related to your hospitalisation to the person you have identified as your contact person.
Patients, family members or carers can be a member of the hospital’s Patient Representative Group. The members regularly meet healthcare workers and hospital managers. They share their experiences and discuss improvement projects, new services, patient information materials, facilities and policies and strategies. Sharing your experience could make a difference.
For further information and an application form please contact:
Patient Experience Office
Quality and Safety Improvement Directorate
St James’s Hospital
James’s Street
Dublin 8
Telephone: (01) 410 3361 / 428 4248
Email: personcentredcare@stjames.ie
See: https://www.stjames.ie/aboutus/news/stjamesshospitalpatientrepresentativegroup.html
What to expect when attending the Emergency Department
On arrival, you will be guided through a registration process, during which your details (name, date of birth, address, phone number) will be recorded. It is extremely important that we have the correct, up to date contact details for you and your nominated contact person.
You will be assessed by a nurse. This process is called ‘triage’. We see all patients as quickly and efficiently as possible. Patients are treated in accordance with their clinical needs and are clinically prioritised to be seen by a doctor or advanced nurse practitioner based on their triage assessment.
Please note that patients who are triaged as less clinically urgent to be seen, may experience longer waiting times.
If you require admission to hospital you will be transferred to a ward as soon as a bed on the appropriate ward is available.
Our Security Department operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week, to ensure the safety and security of our patients, visitors and staff. The hospital’s CCTV cameras and alarm systems are monitored by our Security Control Facility.
What we do:
Out of hours queries should be emailed to security@stjames.ie.
In an emergency, always call 999.
• Only bring essential items to the hospital. Leave all valuables at home. If you have arrived at the hospital, pass valuables to relatives or friends to take home for you.
• Protect your personal belongings and do not leave valuable items in your vehicle.
• Report all suspicious incidents/ persons to a staff member.
Contact Details
Telephone: (01) 416 2107/ 416 2108
Email: security@stjames.ie