Vistors charter—children and young people

For our inpatient wards we welcome visitors from 10am–9pm. This is to help support our patients and to enable family, next of kin and carers to feel more involved in the care that we provide in hospital and planning for discharge home.

Visiting outside of this timeframe can be arranged in exceptional circumstances by discussing with the nurse in charge of the ward. It is also expected that the parent/carer will have open visiting 24/7. 

We want to work with you to support you and the person you are visiting as much as possible during their hospital stay. Please help us by following our requests that we have set out in our visitors’ charter.

Staff

We will:

• Be polite and professional to you at all times
• Be supportive of family, next of kin and carers who wish to participate in their child’s care
• Do our best to create a calm and restful environment to help patients recover
• Use our skills to prioritise the planning of care to our patients and communicate our decisions
• Keep family members and the next of kin informed of any information with the patients’ permission (where appropriate), including arranging for you to speak to a member of the medical team
• Do all we can to protect patients and visitors from infection—on occasions this may result in restricting visiting times, restricting who can visit and moving patients to an allocated side room
• Keep patients, staff and visitors safe by acting when we see measures put in place to reduce risk to ourselves or others are not complied with—if necessary, this may include issuing warnings to those who consistently refuse to comply with Chelsea and Westminster policies, processes and procedures
• Work hard to provide a clean hospital
• Provide the necessary care to all patients within our ward and ensure all patients get enough rest, as this is an important factor in their recovery
• Be respectful to each patient, ensuring we understand who is important in their life and trying to facilitate appropriate visiting for everyone including siblings/children
• Be open and honest with you—sometimes it is not appropriate to allow children to visit and we will inform you of this and always explain the reason why

Visitors

We ask you to:

• Be polite and courteous to staff, other patients and visitors at all times
• Ensure that no more than two people visit at any one time (in exceptional circumstances this can be discussed with the nurse in charge and alternative arrangements agreed)
• Know you may be asked to leave the ward during doctors’ rounds to ensure confidentiality for other children is maintained
• Provide essential personal items like toiletries, glasses, suitable clothing and footwear, as well as your child’s nappies, milk, feeds etc
• Be respectful—our patients are poorly and vulnerable so please keep noise to a minimum and put your phone on silent
• Do not be offended if a member of staff asks you to leave for a short time, as there will be occasions when privacy and dignity need to be maintained for the person you are visiting and other patients within the vicinity
• Understand and respect that information cannot be given out unless the patient/parent has given their permission
• Recognise that due to patient care priorities you may have to wait to speak to medical staff
• If possible, for parents to be present at ward rounds for any questions/queries to be answered
• Comply with all infection control measures outlined on our website and highlighted to you via signage or by our staff (guidance might vary from ward to ward)
• You will be asked to use the hand sanitisers provided and you might be required to wear a face mask
• You must not visit the hospital if you are:Do not use the patient toilets or bathrooms—please ask a member of staff the directions to the public facilities
  • Unwell—especially if you have a high temperature or a new, persistent cough
  • Unwell and have had diarrhoea and vomiting within the previous 24 hours
• Consider the impact of your actions and behaviour on the person that you are visiting, other patients and visitors and our staff
• Be considerate to staff if you are asked to change the way you are acting or behaving
• Do not raise your voice, use inappropriate language or act in an aggressive manner when speaking to any member of staff or member of the public—this will not be tolerated and you will be asked to leave
• Do not sit on patients’ beds—use the chairs provided
• Do not bring food for your own consumption—staff will be happy to direct you to the nearest restaurant facility
• Do not smoke or use e-cigarettes within the hospital—please ask a member of staff for directions to a designated smoking area
• If you child and/or their sibling uses the play room, please leave the room clean and tidy—they must be supervised at all times
• Remember that rest is important and allow the person you are visiting the opportunity to rest for periods throughout the day—be respectful of other patients’ rest times and acceptable bedtimes
• Please be aware that you will be asked to leave if a medical emergency occurs
• Please do not disturb the nursing staff when they are administering medications
• Please do not disturb the nursing staff if they are attending to another patient
• Please discuss siblings/children visiting with the ward manager
• Please be respectful if we inform you that children cannot visit
• If children are allowed to visit, please ensure they are quiet and well-behaved when in a clinical environment
• Please ensure children do not run around when in a clinical environment and ensure you are always fully responsible for them
• If children do not follow the above requirements, we will ask that they leave—if this happens, please be respectful of our decision and understand why we are making this choice