When you arrive at the hospital, you should report to the main reception desk with your admissions letter. The staff there will check your details and tell you which ward to go to. Once on the ward, the ward clerk will deal with the clerical side of your admission, filling in the necessary forms with you. You will then be allocated a bed and introduced to your named nurse.

The ‘Named Nurse Initiative’ was introduced into NHS hospitals under the Government’s Patients’ Charter. A particular nurse is now responsible for planning each patient’s nursing care throughout their stay in hospital. (The ward sister will, of course, still be informed of all aspects of your care, and will be able to discuss it with you or your relatives.)

Your named nurse will admit you to the ward, look after you during your stay, and co-ordinate your discharge when the time comes. You will be allocated another nurse for other working shifts. The idea is for people to be identified as individuals who are known to at least one nurse on each shift and who are involved in their own care. To this end, you will be asked to help your nurse draw up a care plan when you are admitted to the ward. You should tell the nurse of any preferences or dislikes you have, for example if you prefer to sleep with several pillows, if there are certain foods you do not want, or if you have any ailments other than that for which you are having surgery, such as arthritis.

Your nurse’s name may be displayed above your bed or on your bedside locker so that your relatives and other nursing and medical staff know who to talk to about your care. Your care plan may be kept at the bottom of your bed, but wherever it is, it is available for you to read. Nursing staff may tick off a checklist as they carry out the various procedures and will update the care plan with you as the need arises.

Do tell the nurse if you have any problems or if you are anxious about any aspect of your hospital stay.

As you are admitted to the ward, the nurse will take notes of your personal details and explain the ward procedures to you. Your discharge will also be planned at this time. The nursing staff will need to be sure that someone will be able to collect you and take you home when the time comes. If this is not possible, hospital transport may be arranged for you. If you are due to go home the day after your operation, the nurses will have to be sure you can manage. The effects of anesthetic gases, and other agents used by the anesthetist, can stay in your body for several days, and although you may feel you are fully recovered, your reaction times will be slow and you may continue to feel sick and light-headed for at least the next couple of days. Elderly women particularly should have someone to help them for a day or two after their operation. All this will be taken into account as you and the nurse plan your discharge.

The nurse will measure your blood pressure, temperature and pulse. A sample of your urine may be taken for analysis to make sure you do not have diabetes or any disorder of the kidneys that would make the operation inadvisable. You may also be weighed as the anesthetist may need to know your weight in order to be able to calculate the dose of anesthetic you require.

You will be shown to your bed on the ward and told of any ward details, such as meal times, and where to find the toilets and day room etc.

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