Admission
What to expect when admitted for internal medicine?
We provide care to our sickest patients as a group, actively discussing the patients together during morning report. Once a week we discuss the admitted patients in depth using the expertise of our colleagues, taking in account the international standards to provide the best possible care. During this weekly meeting we agree upon the best treatment.
To be able to deliver dedicated care to the patients on the wards we have freed one internist every week to see the patients on the wards. That means that you as a patient will have a different specialist besides your bed every week. The specialist that is working on the wards will however follow the treatment plan that was established by the group.
What if I have my own internist in the outpatient?
It is always possible to see your specialist and talk about the treatment you receive, you can ask for an appointment with him or her. You will find that the treatment that is given is always in complete agreement with your specialist as he or she will always have the final say on the treatment plan of the group.
Can I speak with the doctor as family?
We find it important that patients and family are informed regarding the illness and treatment of our patients, so we welcome family talks. You can ask the nurse or secretary of the ward for an appointment for a family talk, an appointment has to be made. However we may never talk to family without the patients consent and preferably we talk to our patients together with family. Often the family plays a crucial role in recovery of the patient so involving the family is crucial in our treatment. Of course there are exceptions. Your doctor will know what exceptions he/she may make.
What can I do to become better sooner?
CODE, reanimation, what is it and why is it discussed?
We all hope that nothing will happen during hospital stay, but we know that sick people can suddenly become very ill. A patient may require admission to the medium care or intensive care, a patient may need to be on a ventilator machine or in the worst case a patient's heart may have stopped and needs to be revived (reanimation). Doctors have a good knowledge about the chances that somebody will survive such a treatment. As there is no time to discuss with the patient or the family in case of a calamity we need to think ahead. That is why a doctor will discuss with the patient and family in advance what will be done and what will not be done in case of an emergency. As this is a medical decision from a team of specialists the patient/family does not have a say in this, but the doctor will inform. The patient may also declare that he/she does not want a certain treatment, then it is not a medical decision, but the wish of the patient. If a patient wants to limit his/her treatment more than is medically required we will always follow the patient wishes. It is important to discuss this with your doctor.
Why am I discharged while not being completely recovered or do not have all the care arranged?
If I have a complaint, what can I do?
Even though we aim to give everybody the best possible treatment things can go wrong. From the start of the admission until discharge we are responsible for you. During your admission a lot of people will attend you and hundreds to thousands of small and larger actions will be taken and a lot is communicated. If something goes wrong or if you feel that the communication is wrong we want to know as specialists. It is our job to solve issues and prevent mistakes. So please address it to your specialist. Even if you have a communication problem with the specialist that attends you. We will never take it personally and will look for a way to solve it as we know that having a trustful relationship with your specialist is a crucial part of the treatment. We have nothing to hide and if we notice mistakes we will communicate the mistakes with you. It is always possible to file a complaint to the klachtenfunctionaris of course, if talking to your doctor does not regain your trust.
We provide care to our sickest patients as a group, actively discussing the patients together during morning report. Once a week we discuss the admitted patients in depth using the expertise of our colleagues, taking in account the international standards to provide the best possible care. During this weekly meeting we agree upon the best treatment.
To be able to deliver dedicated care to the patients on the wards we have freed one internist every week to see the patients on the wards. That means that you as a patient will have a different specialist besides your bed every week. The specialist that is working on the wards will however follow the treatment plan that was established by the group.
What if I have my own internist in the outpatient?
It is always possible to see your specialist and talk about the treatment you receive, you can ask for an appointment with him or her. You will find that the treatment that is given is always in complete agreement with your specialist as he or she will always have the final say on the treatment plan of the group.
Can I speak with the doctor as family?
We find it important that patients and family are informed regarding the illness and treatment of our patients, so we welcome family talks. You can ask the nurse or secretary of the ward for an appointment for a family talk, an appointment has to be made. However we may never talk to family without the patients consent and preferably we talk to our patients together with family. Often the family plays a crucial role in recovery of the patient so involving the family is crucial in our treatment. Of course there are exceptions. Your doctor will know what exceptions he/she may make.
What can I do to become better sooner?
- Prepare for the morning visits, write down any questions you have.
- The treatment plan will often comprise of IV fluids and medications. Ask your doctor how long the stay is going to be and how long you need to be on IV fluids.
- Studies have shown that people in bed loose a lot of strength while they need strength to recover. We therefore recommend putting on your normal clothes and getting out of bed as much as possible, if you are not sure about leaving your bed, please ask the nurses or the doctors.
- It is difficult to know all about your home situation. Many times a patient needs extra care after discharge. We try to anticipate by making sure that (most of) the extra care is arranged during admission, but you can help by addressing during visiting rounds and/or family talks.
CODE, reanimation, what is it and why is it discussed?
We all hope that nothing will happen during hospital stay, but we know that sick people can suddenly become very ill. A patient may require admission to the medium care or intensive care, a patient may need to be on a ventilator machine or in the worst case a patient's heart may have stopped and needs to be revived (reanimation). Doctors have a good knowledge about the chances that somebody will survive such a treatment. As there is no time to discuss with the patient or the family in case of a calamity we need to think ahead. That is why a doctor will discuss with the patient and family in advance what will be done and what will not be done in case of an emergency. As this is a medical decision from a team of specialists the patient/family does not have a say in this, but the doctor will inform. The patient may also declare that he/she does not want a certain treatment, then it is not a medical decision, but the wish of the patient. If a patient wants to limit his/her treatment more than is medically required we will always follow the patient wishes. It is important to discuss this with your doctor.
Why am I discharged while not being completely recovered or do not have all the care arranged?
- We will only discharge patients that do NOT need to stay in the hospital for medical reasons.
- Patients that do not need medical treatment in the hospital are discharged as soon as possible as the hospital is a known hazardous place with very sick people coming in with infectious diseases. Patients that are recovering are extra vulnerable for infections.
- We are the only hospital on the island. As much as we would like to wait for everything to be perfect, we have to deal with the fact that there are constantly patients presented at the emergency department that need hospital care. Our golden rule is that we deliver everybody the care he/she deserves. Sometimes it forces us to take difficult decisions.
If I have a complaint, what can I do?
Even though we aim to give everybody the best possible treatment things can go wrong. From the start of the admission until discharge we are responsible for you. During your admission a lot of people will attend you and hundreds to thousands of small and larger actions will be taken and a lot is communicated. If something goes wrong or if you feel that the communication is wrong we want to know as specialists. It is our job to solve issues and prevent mistakes. So please address it to your specialist. Even if you have a communication problem with the specialist that attends you. We will never take it personally and will look for a way to solve it as we know that having a trustful relationship with your specialist is a crucial part of the treatment. We have nothing to hide and if we notice mistakes we will communicate the mistakes with you. It is always possible to file a complaint to the klachtenfunctionaris of course, if talking to your doctor does not regain your trust.