During your stay, you’ll meet different members of your hospital care team. All our staff are happy to explain their role to you if you ask.
Every day you’ll have a named nurse caring for you. They'll write their name on the 'named nurse board'. We also encourage you to write helpful information on the board.
We always make sure that we have enough staff on duty. We monitor this at all times.
It's important to us that your care and hygiene needs are met. We want to make sure:
- there's no delay if you need help to go to the toilet
- we help you manage any pain you have
- you feel listened to
If there’s anything else we can do for you and your family while you’re with us, ask us.
Talk to the ward sister or the matron if you have any concerns about your care or condition.
Your care on the ward
Your medical team see you each day to make a daily plan for your care. We want you to feel involved in decisions about your care. Tell us if you:
- need us to explain something more clearly
- need extra help
- are in pain
- feel staff could involve you more in discussions about your care
- have any fears or worries about your care or treatment
- want to get a second opinion about your case or treatment
- want to find out if there are any research studies open to patients, and how you can take part
One of the nurses will be wearing a red nurse in charge badge. This is the nurse in charge for that shift. They're the best person to go to if you have any concerns or are unsure who to ask about something. You can also speak to a ward sister or charge nurse.
If you feel like you're not getting what you need from the ward team, you can ask to speak to the matron.
Meet your team
You'll be cared for by a skilled medical team, led by a consultant (senior doctor).
Medical staff
You are under the care of a consultant who is responsible for your medical treatment. Each consultant has a team of doctors – the specialist registrar supervises your treatment, while registrars and resident doctors look after your daily care.
A member of your medical team will visit the ward regularly to assess your progress and prescribe treatment. If at any time you would like to discuss your treatment with a member of the team, your nurse will arrange a meeting at a time convenient for you both.
Nursing staff
Each ward has its own team of qualified nurses who are responsible for your care. Depending on your diagnosis, you may also meet with a clinical nurse specialist and, if appropriate, you may be introduced to our homecare service team.
Each ward is run by a matron. Read a profile of your ward's matron
You can recognise most of our nursing staff by the colour of their uniform. Some healthcare professionals, such as ward pharmacists or dietitians, do not wear uniforms.
All staff wear an identity badge and yellow name badge.
All our wards operate a nursing system which means that although individual nurses work shifts, the same group of nurses will look after you during your stay. This is different in intensive care where there is generally a one-to-one ratio of nurses to patients.
Student health professionals
Our hospitals are teaching hospitals. We might have student health professionals working on the ward under the close supervision of senior staff. If you do not want to be seen by students, tell us. This will not affect the quality of your care in any way.
Other professionals you might see
You will probably come across many other members of staff during your stay and these include:
- physiotherapists
- radiographers
- dieticians
- technicians
- pharmacists
- porters
- domestic staff
- catering assistants
- ward clerks
- occupational therapists
- health psychologists
- social workers
- welfare rights advisors
- infection prevention and control nurse
- chaplains.
Our team of housekeepers make sure our hospitals are kept clean.
At times you might see a member of our security team or a police officer on our wards. The security team work hard to keep everyone safe.
We do not tolerate violence or aggression in our hospitals.
Staff shifts
Many of our staff work in shifts. At the end of each shift, staff will hand over information about your progress to the team on the next shift. This is to make sure staff coming on shift have the most up-to-date information about your care
Patient advice and liaison service (PALS)
Sometimes you may have a question or worry that you don’t feel you can share with a doctor or nurse. In these instances, you can contact the patient advice and liaison service, who can help you with any concern you may have.
If you would like a hospital volunteer to visit you, PALS can arrange this.
You can contact PALS at Royal Brompton Hospital on 020 7349 7715 or via the main switchboard on 020 77352 8121.
You can contact PALS at Harefield Hospital on 01895 826 572 or via the main switchboard on 01895 823 737.
The PALS offices are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm, and can be found near the Royal Brompton Sydney Street reception, or the main reception at Harefield. Find out more about PALS.