Your rights as an informal patient

Name

Ward

Your Named Nurse is

Your Hospital Doctor is

Your Care Co-ordinator is

Date of Admission

Time

You have been admitted to hospital because you have agreed with the healthcare professionals caring for you that you need to be in hospital so your mental health needs can be assessed fully and you can be offered the treatment you need.

Staff will respect your privacy and dignity at all times.

During the first 24 hours of your admission, you will be allocated a Ward Doctor/Psychiatrist and a qualified Named Nurse. With your permission, the Ward Doctor will give you a physical examination and arrange any necessary tests you may need. This is to make sure that if you have any physical health needs, you can be offered the appropriate treatment. You will be informed of the results of any tests and treatment options.

Your Named Nurse and Ward Doctor will speak with you to assess your mental health needs and any other specific needs you may have. They may also wish to speak with your carers or relatives and will discuss this with you. Your Named Nurse will use this information to devise a care plan with you. Your care plan will set out the care package you will receive whilst you are in hospital and who will provide this.

If you have a care co-ordinator in the community, they will be part of the care planning process and visit you on the ward.

You will be given a ward booklet which explains most of the things you will need to know about the ward such as visiting times, meal times and items you are not allowed to bring onto the ward etc. If there is anything you are unsure or concerned about, please speak with a member of staff.

If there is anyone you wish us to inform about your admission, please tell your Named Nurse or the Nurse in Charge and they can arrange for you to contact them or contact them on your behalf. Ward staff will inform other professionals involved in your care that you have been admitted.

As an informal patient, you have the right to leave the ward at any time although we do ask that you stay on the ward for the first few days so you and staff can get to know each other. Please note that all external ward doors are locked in the interests of security.

If you would like to go on day leave or overnight leave, you can discuss this with your Doctor or Named Nurse as this should be an arrangement between yourself, ward staff and your carer (where appropriate).

Please be aware that staff have a duty of care towards you, and the Nurse-in-Charge is expected to know where you are at all times. Staff are also required to assess you before you leave the ward. If they have concerns about you leaving the ward, they must arrange a further assessment. The outcome of this assessment will be discussed with you (and your carer where appropriate) and may result in you not being allowed to leave the ward. If you leave the ward without permission the police may be asked to find you and return you back to the ward.

The treatment you are offered will depend upon your individual needs. You will be involved in deciding what treatment you receive with your Named Nurse and Doctor. This may include therapeutic group work, individual work or medication. As an informal patient, your consent is required before you can be given any treatment.

You have the right to discharge yourself from hospital at any time however we strongly recommend that you speak to your Named Nurse or Doctor before making the decision to leave. This is to ensure that you have any necessary treatment you may require and to enable staff to arrange any follow-up care you may need.

Please remember that staff have a duty of care towards you and are required to assess you before agreeing with your discharge. If they have concerns about you discharging yourself, they must arrange a further assessment. The outcome of this assessment will be discussed with you (and your carer where appropriate) and may result in you not being allowed to leave the ward.

If you wish to take your own discharge against the advice of the Doctor or Nurse, you may be asked to sign a ‘Discharged against Medical Advice’ form before you leave.

All of our Trust sites are now completely smokefree which means that you and your visitors are not allowed to smoke anywhere on our sites. This means both indoors and on our Trust grounds.  This is part of our approach to support service users and staff to achieve a healthy lifestyle and reduce the harmful effects of smoking.

On admission if you smoke you will be seen by a member of the Tobacco Dependency Treatment service who will talk to you and offer you support to be smokefree while you are in hospital. You will be offered nicotine replacement products such as patches, inhalators and lozenges on admission to keep you comfortable and help with nicotine withdrawal and cravings to smoke. You may also be offered an E-cigarette (vape).

Staff may need to carry out personal and property searches of patients based on clinical need. Should the search be in relation to alcohol or illicit drugs then this may also involve the use of a sniffer dog. Staff can provide you with a leaflet about the Narcotics Search Dog.

An Advocate
An advocate is someone who acts on your behalf to support you in making decisions whilst you are an informal patient.

You may be able to have an advocate, contact the service that covers the area where you live. See www.cntw.nhs.uk/imha for contact details for services in your area.

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:

• talk to the people directly involved in your care
• ask a member of staff for a feedback form, or complete a form on the Trust website
• telephone the Complaints Department on 0191 245 6672
• email [email protected]. Please note that information sent to the Trust via email is sent at your own risk

We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention. You can provide feedback in the following ways:

• the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourvoice
• complete a Your Voice survey, available on wards, reception areas or from staff
• other options for sharing your feedback and experience www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourfeedback

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
PALS provide confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns that you may have about any aspect of your or your loved ones care.

We act independently when handling patient and family concerns, liaising with staff, managers and, where appropriate, relevant organisations, to negotiate prompt solutions. If necessary, we can also refer patients and families to specific local or national-based support agencies.

North of Tyne
Telephone: 0800 032 0202
Email: [email protected]
Post: FREEPOST PALS

South of Tyne
Telephone: 0800 328 4397
Text: 07825 061 035
Email: [email protected]
Post: Patient Advice and Liaison Service, Garden Lodge, Hopewood Park, Ryhope, Sunderland, SR2 0NB

9am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday

An answerphone is available at all times for you to leave a message. A member of the PALS team will aim to return your call as soon as possible.

If you want to give feedback on your care, good or bad, to the Care Quality Commission please complete a feedback form on the CQC website https://www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care

CNTW PGN – 04 – Informal Patients Rights

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think about this leaflet please get in touch.

This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre Tel: 0191 246 7288

Published by the Patient Information Centre
2024 Copyright, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

Ref, PIC/361/1124 November 2024 V9

Website: www.cntw.nhs.uk

Telephone: 0191 246 7288

Review date 2027