Admission to Isala (EN) Admission to Isala (EN)

Admission to Isala

About your stay

You have talked to your doctor about surgery or treatment at Isala. This means that you will be admitted to our hospital for one or more days. You will receive all the medical information you need about the treatment or surgery from your doctor or an employee of the department treating you. This leaflet provides tips and useful information about admission to our hospital.

Date of admission

We will inform you as soon as your day of admission to Isala is known. We will do this in writing, by telephone or by e-mail.

We will do our utmost to treat you on the agreed date, but unexpected circumstances can arise which make this impossible. In that case, we will consult with you to set a new date as soon as possible.
We understand that this can be annoying, but the hospital is not liable for any financial damages you may suffer as a result.

Not feeling well, a cold or flu?

If you have a cold, the flu or a fever, or you suspect that you are infected with resistant bacteria or another infectious disease such as corona (COVID-19), diarrhoea, mumps or TB, please report this to us within a week of your admission.

You can report this by telephone to the department that will be treating you. Your examination or treatment can often continue as usual. While caring for you, we will follow special regulations to prevent other patients or employees from becoming infected.

Preoperative examination

If you are undergoing surgery or treatment with general anaesthesia or another type of anaesthetic, you will first have an appointment at the Preoperative Examination Department. You will receive an invitation for this.

To ensure that you are well-prepared, you will have appointments with the pharmacy assistant (if you are taking medication), the anaesthetist and the nurse. The appointments will take place at different times by telephone.

Preparing at home

After you have received the admission date, you can prepare for your stay at the hospital at home. We have listed a few points for you:

Contact person

It is a good idea to appoint two contact persons; a family member or a friend. We then know to whom we can provide information about your situation and who to contact if necessary. You must give the names and telephone numbers of these contact persons to the ward nurse on the first day of your admission. Please bring this information with you to the hospital.

Transport home

In most cases, you are not allowed to drive home yourself after your stay or day treatment. This can be dangerous for you and others in the traffic. You also run the risk of being held responsible in the event of an accident. If you are not allowed to drive yourself home, you must make another plan in advance for returning home after your discharge. You and your family are responsible for arranging your transport home.

Stay as healthy as possible

Use the time at home before your admission to stay in shape as best you can. Being in good shape is especially important for a good recovery if you need to undergo surgery. Try to keep exercising as much as possible, eat and drink healthily and stop smoking.

What to bring with you?

There is little storage space. Therefore, take as little as possible with you. And take your belongings with you in a shopping bag:

Think further of:

• Valid proof of identity: passport, driver's license or ID card.
• Medication: bring any medicines you take at home with you in the original packaging. You can request an up-to-date list of your medicines from your pharmacy. It is useful to also bring this list with you to the hospital. Add to the list any over-the-counter medications you are taking, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen.
• Comfortable clothing for during the day and at night. Remember things like a bathrobe, slippers/flip flops, normal clothes and sturdy shoes. There is no need to wear your pyjamas all day.
• Toiletries such as shampoo, (electric) toothbrush and toothpaste, shaver, trimmer, sanitary pads, glasses case, lens case, lens solution and a container for your dentures.
• Charger for your mobile phone or tablet.
• Your own medical devices such as glucose meter/CPAP/ INR meter.
• Aids that you use at home such as crutches or a walker. It is often easier to use your own aids at the hospital as well.

You should not be alone the first night after surgery. Before your admission, it is a good idea to ask a family member or friend to stay the night.

What not to bring?

• Towels. These are available on the ward.
• It is better to leave valuables such as a wallet, watch, wedding ring or other jewellery at home. The hospital cannot be held liable for the loss or theft of your belongings. If you do lose something, you can report this to the nurse.
• If you do have valuables with you, you can store them in a locker in your room. Every patient has their own locker. 
• You may not bring your own household devices such as an electric blanket, hairdryer, curling iron, hair straightener, foot warmer or radio. This is due to fire safety rules.

At the hospital

We will try to make your stay at our hospital as pleasant as possible. We are happy to assist you at whatever location you are admitted for surgery or treatment. The information below will give you an idea of the procedures at our locations.

Registration in Zwolle

On the day of your admission, please report to the Central Reception Desk of the location where you will be admitted. The employee at the Central Desk will check your personal information, tell you which nursing ward you will be admitted to and how to find it. You will then be welcomed on the ward. If you still need to undergo tests in connection with your admission, these will be carried out first.

Registration in Meppel

 On the day of your admission, please report to the registration terminal. The registration terminal prints your appointment ticket. This shows the time of your appointment, the waiting time and the route. Do you have questions? Then you can contact one of our hostesses or hosts. They are happy to help you.

Wristband

Once on the ward, you will have an introductory meeting with a nurse, and you can get yourself settled in. The nurse will give you a wristband to prevent mix-ups with other patients. You are obliged to wear this wristband during your stay at our hospital.

Hospital room

You will be in a single, double, triple or quadruple room. Both men and women are cared for in the rooms. Isala wants to use the available beds in the hospital as efficiently as possible.

Each room has a toilet and a bathroom. Every patient has their own bedside table, wardrobe and a bell by the bed to call the nurse.

Medicine

Please give any medicines you have brought with you from home or the medicine list from your pharmacy to the ward nurse. If you take medication differently than indicated on the list, please state this. If you are hypersensitive (allergic) to certain substances or medicines, please inform the nurse. Do not take any medicines you have brought with you during your stay at Isala without consulting your doctor. These can affect your treatment.

The medicines you receive in the hospital may look different from what you are used to. This is because our hospital pharmacy supplies a different brand. If you take a medicine that is not in the hospital pharmacy's collection, the hospital pharmacy will replace it with an equivalent medicine. The effect will be comparable.

Medical care

Isala is a large training hospital. At our hospital, you will meet doctors-in-training, nurses-in-training and other care providers who are in training. They will be involved in your treatment, but the medical specialist (the attending physician) is always responsible for your treatment. If you were at the outpatient clinic before your admission, then you may have already met the medical specialist.

The medical specialist works with the physician assistant. This is a graduate doctor who is training as a medical specialist. The physician assistant can also treat you or operate on you, but always under the responsibility of the medical specialist. There are also interns working at our hospital. These are doctors-in-training who work under the direction of medical specialists and physician assistants.

The medical specialists and physician assistants will keep you informed about your medical treatment during visiting rounds on the ward or at another time. They will tell you about the examinations, the treatment, the medicines, the surgery, the results of the surgery and the daily routine and rules when at home.

If a care provider is unclear or you are unfamiliar with the words used, ask for an explanation. Feel free to inquire about the consequences of a treatment such as pain, discomfort and any other consequences. You are entitled to this information. If you disagree with a treatment, please discuss this with your care provider.

Pain relief

Pain is recorded on the wards. We do this to determine how much pain relief you need. Good pain relief is necessary because:

• it contributes to a faster recovery;
• insufficient pain relief can hinder coughing and disturb your sleep, which can delay your recovery;
• too much pain medication can cause side effects. You need to get exactly the right amount of pain relief.

You can read more information about this in the Pain Control and Pain Recording leaflet.

Use of body material

Sometimes a care provider will collect body material from you. The hospital can use this human tissue for scientific research. This allows us to improve medical research and treatments.

If this is the case, we will ask for your verbal consent. If you consent, you do not need to do anything. If you do not consent, you will need to fill in a form. More information about this can be found on our website in the Use of Body Materials for Scientific Research leaflet.

Spiritual care

Being ill can raise many questions and uncertainties. To help you deal with them, we have spiritual counsellors at Isala. They can help you and your family with questions on ethical matters. The nurse can call a spiritual counsellor for you if you wish.

Eating and drinking

Service assistants work on the ward. These employees provide you with food and drinks every day. There is plenty to choose from, even for patients on a diet. When creating the menus, we take various personal beliefs into account as best we can.

For a successful recovery, you must eat and drink properly. Losing weight during illness occurs, but is not desirable. In this case, the service assistant will offer you extra food. This is done in consultation with the dietician.

Our hospital has strict requirements and rules for preparing, serving and storing food. Isala follows the legal hygiene standards in this. These rules also apply to food brought in by visitors. More information about this can be found in the Food Safety leaflet on our website.

Visitors during your stay

Hospital patients greatly appreciate the visit of a family member or friend. At Isala, we do everything we can to be a welcoming hospital, for patients and visitors. You will find our visiting hours and some tips and information on www.isala.nl/bezoektijden. You can also ask the department where you have been admitted about the visiting hours.

Weekly parking ticket

If you are admitted for a longer period, please note that your visitors can buy a weekly ticket for the car park at the Central Reception Desk.

Practical matters

During your stay, there are various facilities at your disposal. We also have house rules, the most important being:

• Telephone
  You may use a mobile phone at Isala.
• Internet
  At Isala, you can use free wireless internet (Wi-fi).
• TV and radio
   In your hospital room you can watch TV and listen to the radio for free from your bed. In Meppel you can do this via a tablet. Please ask your nurse for more information.
• Post and free e-cards
  It is lovely to receive post during your admission. This is possible on weekdays. Isala also has a free e-card service. More information about sending post or e-cards can be found on www.isala.nl/post.
• Flowers
  A beautiful bunch of flowers cheers everyone up. Flowers are welcome on all the wards, except in the Intensive Care (IC), Haematology Department (V2.3) and Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) where flowers and pot plants are not allowed.
• Non-smoking hospital
  Isala is a smoke-free hospital. Smoking is also prohibited in the outside areas and the courtyards. This also applies to e-cigarettes.
• Photos, videos and sound recordings
  Please feel free to let us know what you think of Isala on social media! But before you post photos, videos or sound recordings made in Isala, you must request permission in advance. You can find the rules on www.isala.nl/socialmedia.
• Respect for each other
  Just like everyone else, we expect you to treat patients, visitors and employees at the hospital with respect. This naturally also applies to your and our property. Aggression and violence are not acceptable.

Exercise

If you feel fit enough and do not have to stay in bed, you may leave the ward in consultation with the nurse. You can perhaps take a walk to the Central Hall or have a cup of coffee in the visitor's restaurant.

Please tell the nurse that you are leaving the ward to avoid missing the doctor's visiting rounds.

Going home

Your doctor will discuss with you when your medical treatment is complete and you can leave the hospital. We have listed a few things for you to prepare for your return home:

Discharge

In the case of a multi-day admission, you will hear that you can go home one or two days before your discharge. Before you leave, you will have a consultation. At this consultation, matters such as medicines, daily routine, nutrition, follow-up appointments and referrals for a physiotherapist or social worker will be discussed. You will receive a paper copy of the rules and explanations for home.

Medicine

Your doctor may prescribe a new or different medication to help you recover at home. The nurse will tell you how and where to collect the medicines. If anything changes, you will receive an up-to-date list of your medicines upon discharge.

General Practitioner (GP)

Your doctor will inform your GP about the progress of your stay at the hospital, any medication and aftercare. In this way, your GP will be aware that you have returned home and can assist you further.

Care at home

You may need extra care or nursing at home from a home care organisation. This will have been discussed during the consultation at the Preoperative Examination Department (before surgery).

Before you go home, the ward nurse will discuss with you what is needed. If necessary, the ward nurse will call the Isala Transfer Office. This department will put you in touch with a home care organisation. More information about this can be found in the Care after Hospitalisation leaflet on our website.

Domestic help

If you require domestic help at home after your admission, you must arrange it yourself. Inquire at your local authority Social Assistance Act service desk about how to arrange this.

Another care institution

Sometimes going home is not possible. After your stay at the hospital, you will then (temporarily) be admitted to another care institution such as a nursing home, care home, rehabilitation centre or hospice. The Isala Transfer Office will help arrange this. The ward nurse will call this department for you. More information about this can be found in the Care after Hospitalisation leaflet on our website.

If there isn't a place at your preferred care institution on your discharge date, the Transfer Office will look for a temporary place for you at another care institution. Unfortunately, you cannot stay at the hospital until there is a place at the care institution of your preference. However, you can sometimes bridge the waiting time at home or with family, possibly with supportive home care. The transfer nurse will be happy to help you arrange that supportive care.

Ensuring good care together

The Isala employees are responsible for safe care during your treatment and stay at our hospital. They must ensure that you receive the right medicines and the correct treatment appropriate to your situation. You can also contribute to safe care and help us prevent as many mistakes as possible.

What can you do?

• Provide us with all the information about your health. Always check your name and date of birth. Tell us how you feel and what you expect from the employee.
• Write down which medicines you are taking and bring this list with you. Ask your pharmacist for a printout of your medication list. If you are unsure about the medication you are receiving, please tell us.
• Tell us if you don't understand something and report any doubts or concerns you may have.
• Ask questions if anything is not going as you expected. If an employee gives you a treatment that is different from what you think was agreed, be prepared to ask questions.
• Follow the rules and recommendations carefully. Ask what you can and cannot do. Let us know if you receive advice or information that you feel is incorrect.
• Feel free to bring a family member or friend with to a consultation with the doctor or another hospital employee. Two hear better than one.

Your rights and obligations

We promise you that we will provide good care and services. If you are a patient at Isala or a visitor, rules apply to you and our employees: the rights and obligations. These rules ensure that we can inform you properly and treat you safely. Rights and obligations are often based on legislation. You can find our rules in the Rights and Obligations leaflet on our website.

Deze folder is ook beschikbaar in Nederlands: Opname in Isala.