Patient Information

Preparing For Your Stay

Your Admission

Your admission to the Hospital is arranged by your GP or doctor.  You are asked to arrive at the Hospital at the time specified by the Doctors’ Secretary / Hospital Admission staff.
 

Acute Admissions

Acute admissions are arranged by your GP or consultant following a telephone call to the booking office in the hospital.  We do not have an Accident and Emergency department.

Please Leave Your Valuables At Home

Since we cannot be responsible for the loss of valuables, please leave money, jewellery, or any other possessions you consider valuable, at home.  If you do come to the Hospital with such valuables, please see that a member of your family returns them to a place of safety, or deposit them in the Hospital safe.  A security officer is on duty 24 hours a day.  The hospital’s security system is designed to protect patients and staff.
 

Medications

Please bring all your medications with you, including creams, eye/ear/nasal drops, sprays, patches etc and any items you have purchased over the counter.  They should preferably be in their original boxes, clearly labelled with full instructions. 

In addition, to avoid any interruption in your medications, ask your pharmacy for a printout of all your medications, and bring this with you.  Alternatively, you may write out your own list of medications on a form that you can download here - Click here for Patient Medication List Form
 

Preparing For Your Stay

Ring Your Insurance Provider

Prior to your admission, it is important to ring your insurance provider to ensure your coverage and clarify any excesses or shortfalls on your policy. An excess is a contribution you are required to pay towards a claim you make on your insurance policy. Policy holders may opt to make this contribution to lower the cost of the premium. This is a contract between you and your insurance company, and as such the hospital cannot intervene. Any excess or shortfall is payable to the hospital prior to admission. In addition, the patient is liable to cover any charges not covered under your insurance plan.

What to Bring with You

All your medications in their original containers, including herbal or over the counter medicines and nicotine replacement therapies. Also bring a list of your current medication from your community pharmacy or GP.

• Nightwear, dressing gown and non slip footwear/slippers.
• Children may also like to bring a favourite toy.
• Underwear
• Toiletries
• Change of clothing
• Contact details of your next of kin

Anything you use on a daily basis - e.g. glasses or lenses, hearing aid and batteries and cochlear implants and batteries, dentures, zimmer frame etc.

There is no ATM on site,therefore, it is recommended that you bring a small amount of cash with you.
 

What to Not Bring with You

• Valuables
• Jewellery
• Large amounts of cash
• Too much clothing (space is limited)
• Electrical Equipment
• Tobacco products
• Alcohol
• Illegal substances
• Food

 

Television

Entertainment facilities include a TV in all patient rooms, with all services from the hospital Chapel and satellite channels available.  A cartoon and video channel is available in the children's suite.

Insurance Coverage

The following Insurance Companies are accepted by Bon Secours Health System Cork 

• VHI /Laya Healthcare
• Garda Medical Aid
• E.S.B Medical Aid
• Other Private Insurers

It is always good practice to confirm Insurance details prior to admission.

 

Basic Patient information is supplied here.  For comprehensive patient information download our Essential Information for Patients

Click here for Patient Identification Process.

Click here for Preparing for your Surgery 

Click here for Paediatric Fasting Guidelines

Click here for Let's Talk Medication Safety (LTMS) Booklet

Click here for Patient Medication List Form

Click here for Infection Control Advice for Patients Prior to Surgery

Click here for Hand Hygiene Information for Patients & Visitors - Clean Hands Saves Lives

Click here for Infection Control Patient Information Leaflet on Aspergillosis

Click here to watch our video on Falls Prevention

Click here for information on Elective Surgical Admissions to the Children’s Ward for Parents/Guardians
 

 

 

Hand Hygiene Information - Patient and Visitors

Why is hand hygiene important?

                                            

To prevent the spread of hospital infections

Following admission to Irish hospitals, approximately 1 in 20 patients acquire an infection. Infections acquired/picked up in hospitals can be harder to treat. You can help protect yourself by asking staff and visitors to clean their hands.

 

To make a difference in your own health

Hand hygiene is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of infections, including the common cold, flu and even hard-to-treat infections such as MRSA.

 

REMEMBER: HAND HYGIENE SAVES LIVES

 

Please click on link below to view leaflet on Hand Hygiene 

HERE

During Your Stay

Checking In

When you arrive at the hospital, you will be directed to the Admissions Department. This is where you will be registered as a patient and your details entered on our computer. We will ask you personal questions such as; your name as it appears on your Birth Certificate/Marriage Certificate. People often have “known as names”, abbreviated names or even nicknames, but for safety we ask that all patients are registered as their name appears on their Birth or Marriage certificate. You will also be asked for your Next of Kin details.

Admission/discharge

Your admission to the hospital is arranged by your Consultant. We advise that you clarify the following with your Consultants secretary prior to admission.

Paediatrics

Your child’s safety and well being are of the utmost importance to us. We hope that the following information will help you to prepare your child for their hospital admission. Discussing your child’s visit to the Bon Secours hospital, answering questions openly and honestly (according to his or her age) will help to alleviate fears and anxieties. Please bring along a favourite soft toy or cherished article as this can be of comfort to them. Parents may remain in the unit with their child. Restaurant facilities are available to you during your stay. We ask that you adhere to our safety precautions and ensure that your child is supervised in the restaurant and other facilities.

Meals / Dietary Requirements

A choice of meals will be available to you. If you have any special dietary requirements you should inform your nurse. Every care is taken to ensure that the food you eat while in hospital is safe and wholesome. We will ask you to state your name and date of birth prior to receiving any special dietary meals; again this is to ensure that you receive the correct meals, as intended for you.

If you have been advised by the healthcare team to fast or to avoid certain foods, please adhere to these guidelines. Meals are served at the following times:

Breakfast 07.30 am – 08.00 am

Lunch 12.00 pm – 12.45 pm

Evening Meal 04.45 pm – 06.00 pm

Only food supplied by the hospital should be eaten by patients staying in hospital. The Hospital will not accept any responsibility for food eaten by patients that has not been produced by the hospital.

Pastoral and Spiritual Care

Pastoral Care is an integral part of the holistic care provided by Bon Secours. This ministry is available to all patients and their loved ones, while respecting each person’s religious freedom, personal convictions and culture. The Pastoral Care Department is staffed by professionally trained Healthcare Chaplains, a member of the local Parish Clergy and a Church of Ireland Minister. Ministers and Leaders of other faith/spiritual traditions can be contacted to visit, on request. Our Healthcare Chaplains visit patients in their rooms (unless specified otherwise) and offer the opportunity for emotional or spiritual support, prayer or just a listening ear.

The Sacraments of the Catholic Church is administered according to the needs and desires of individual patients. Daily Mass is celebrated at 11.00 am in the hospital Chapel and Holy Communion is distributed in patients rooms to those who wish to receive. Our Chapel is located on the ground floor and is open 24 hours a day, providing an oasis of calm for prayer and reflection. All are welcome. All services are transmitted from the Chapel to patients’ rooms on hospital T.V. Channel. During the day reflective music is also available on the same channel.

Going Home

Discharge

We ask that you make arrangements with your family/escort to bring you home no later than 11.00am on the morning of your set discharge date. Make sure to read over  any information leaflets relevant to your condition/procedure.  Ask your discharging nurse or doctor any questions or queries you may have about how to care for yourself at home.

Questions to Ask

If you have a wound, what care is needed? Have you stitches or clips that need to be removed?

Do you need an outpatient appointment or follow up care?

You Should be Given

Discharge letter to give to your GP in the community

Follow up instructions

A prescription if needed

Discharge Checklist

Do you have your own medication that you brought in to hospital?

Have you got your discharge prescription?

Discharge medication is not supplied by the hospital.

Do you have a way of getting the prescribed medication before you arrive home?

Do you know what the medication is for, how often and how long you should take it for? If you are unsure, ask your doctor before you leave

Do you have house keys, clothes and is there food available?

Have you got all your belongings? (Including new and old medical aids such as your glasses, dentures or walking aid).

Do you need a visit/help from the Public Health Nurse, Home Help or Family?

Do you need a letter for your doctor or Public Health Nurse?

Do you need a medical certificate for your employer?

Your doctor will give you a new prescription when you are discharged from hospital. A copy of this prescription will be sent to your GP as your medications may have changed while in hospital. To avoid taking the wrong medications ask your community pharmacist to check any medication you have at home and destroy those you no longer need. There is an outpatient pharmacy service available at the hospital should you wish to have your prescription dispensed before you go home. Opening hours are 10am – 4pm, Monday to Friday.

For more Information, please see our Patient Information Brochure

 

Patient Experience Survey

We hope that you had a great experience in the Bon Secours Cork  and would value your feedback. If you can make any suggestions as to how the service we provide could be improved, please also tell us using the patient experience survey. We are committed to continuous quality improvement and listening to the voice of the patient is key to ensuring that we offer the best possible service to our patients. We would be grateful if you would take the time to complete the “Patient Experience Survey” to ensure that we continue to develop and improve our services. Your input and opinion is valued and will be communicated to the wards. All in-patients are invited on admission to participate in an on-line post discharge survey. You will be contacted two weeks after you are discharged to complete the survey. If you wish to submit a complaint about any service you received please do so as outlined below.

Making a Comment, Compliment or Complaint

Bon Secours Hospital Cork welcomes comments, compliments and complaints from our patients and their families. The principal of using comments, compliments and complaints is an opportunity to inform service provision and to continuously improve the quality of care and service provided to the service user. All patients have the right to complain about any aspect of their care and to have the complaint investigated. Patients will be informed of the outcomes and resolutions where possible. All complaints, criticisms or suggestions, whether verbal or written are taken seriously, handled appropriately and sensitively and will be treated with the strictest of confidence. To submit a complaint regarding a service you received please contact complaintscork@bonsecours.ie or alternatively please write to:

Complaints,
Quality and Risk Department,
Bon Secours Hospital,
College Road,
Cork. 

Reporting a Quality and Safety Issue/concern

A patient or staff member may report any quality or safety issue to the Quality and Risk Department. Bon Secours Cork. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our investigation you may also refer your concern to our accrediting body the Joint Commission International by email to jciquality@jcrinc.com  or by post to Quality and Safety Monitoring Joint Commission International Accreditation 1515W. 22nd Street, Suite 1300W Oak Brook, IL60523, USA.