Things to pack and do for Hospital Stays

If you are having a planned admission you might wat to ask some of the following questions before you admission to plan your stay better...

Looking at the hospitals website etc can also give you an idea of what facilities the hospital has.

• Are there any exclusions to waht I can bring with me? (as mentioned previously some wards have restrictions on things like pot plants and the like).
• Do you have internet access for patients? is it cable or wifi? is it avaialbel in rooms or some central location? what is the cost involved with accessing it? and how do you access it? (i.e. do you eed a password/ logon etc)
• Will I be in a private room, or shared room? if Shared, then how many share a room? and is it single sex or a co-ed ward? If you are immune compromised (i.e. on chemo) make sure you tell them/ remind them, so that you are not placed in a room with someone who is contagious?
• Is the bathroom private or shared?
• Will I have an electric bed ? (manual beds are still used in some hospitals) and if you have issues with mobility and arm movement then you really need an electric bed to make your life easier.
• When are meal time? (especially important for those on strict meal schedules such as diabetics) but also mealtimes in hosital tend to be a little early (usually something like breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12pm, and dinner at 5:30pm then maybe supper of a coffee and biscuit at 7or 8pm, but between 5:30pm and 8am the next morening you can gt very hungry, so knowing this in advacne youcan pack yourself some snacks to eat during this time.
• What security is there? i.e. is there somewher you can lock up your laptop and other gadgets if you need to leave your room for surgery,physio etc.
• Will you have a TV? what cost is involved? what channel access do you have (analogue free to air tv, digital free to air tv, pay TV (if so what company - i.e. austar, foxtel etc).
• What is there policy regarding your own meds? will someone take them off you?, can you administer your own meds? what about narcotics? do you need to supply your own meds, or do they supply them? what about your suppliments?
• Will the cater for food allergies, sensitivities, intolerances, diets etc? Most will but they are not always good at it (my sister is a severe celiac and when she had a historectomy they bought her crumbed chicken for dinner (not gluten free) and made her RALLY sick,. In the end she had her husband bring in ALL of her meals, as it was safer.
• What are visiting hours? and how strict are they about these times? and is there a limit on the number of visitrs at any one time (some hospitals limit it to 2 visitors per patient etc).
• Are you allowed to use my mobile phone in your room, on the ward etc? if not where in the hosptial can you use it?
• Does the hospital supply tissues, and other items like moisturiser, soap, shampoo and other toiletries? some do and some don't. If you like or can only use certain prodcuts then you are better off bringing in your own items.
• If you have any allergies, can they accomodate these? you might be allergic to latex, or the soap powder the wash there linen in and if this is the case, what can be done to accomodate this, or certain smells etc?
• If you are a smoker (now is a GOOD time to quit :-) ), is there somewhere that you can indulge?
• Will you have a bedside phone? and what costs are there in making calls?