Coming into hospital

Coming into hospital image

People come into hospital for lots of different reasons. Some people come in to have an operation, others come in because they are unwell and need treatment or because we need to try to find out what is making them ill. Whatever the reason, some things will be the same for everyone.

Arriving on the ward

When you arrive on the ward, you will be met by one of the receptionists. You will then be shown to your bed. 

Meeting your nurse

One of the nurses will come and meet you to find out a bit more about you and fill in some paperwork. We will need to put a name band on you. It looks like a bracelet and this is really important for us. It tells us your name and if you have any allergies. The nurses and doctors will need to check your name band several times when you are in hospital.Your nurse will then need to do some checks. We call this ‘doing your observations’, or ‘obs’ for short. This means:

  • Taking your temperature
  • Checking your blood pressure
  • Checking your oxygen levels

None of this hurts so you don’t need to worry. The blood pressure machine gives your arm a little squeeze but if you keep nice and still, it is over fairly quickly. Sometimes the nurse will put some local anaesthetic cream on you. It goes on the back of your hand or inside your elbows and is covered by a clear plaster. The special cream works to make the places that it touches go numb, that means you can’t feel much where the cream has been. If you need to have this magic cream put on, the nurse will explain why you need it. Don’t worry; you can still use your arms and hands whilst you have the cream on.

Meeting your doctor

One of the doctors will come and see you to check how you are feeling. You may also meet lots of different people including play specialists. The staff on the ward are all there to help you and everyone plays a different role in your day.