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Overnight visitor's guide

For postnatal patients, having a support person stay overnight can optimise your experience and increase engagement with families.

Only ONE person can stay overnight, and we are unable to allow changing or swapping throughout the night.

Please note that we take a zero-tolerance approach on physical and verbal abuse towards staff.

Failure to adhere to the visiting recommendations below will result in you being asked to leave the ward.

We ask our overnight visitors to follow our overnight visitor’s guide:

Respect

  • Remain fully clothed at all times including shirts and shoes
  • Respect others privacy and dignity
  • Please keep your phone and electronic devices on silent between 10pm – 7am
  • Noise should be kept to a minimum
  • We kindly ask those who smoke to source nicotine replacement therapy to reduce the need to leave the ward overnight as this can be disruptive to other patients.

Safety

  • Keep the floor space clear of all belongings
  • Your baby must remain on the ward at all times unless they are going to the neonatal unit
  • Leaving the ward overnight should be kept to a minimum. Staff may ask you to wait until normal visiting hours to return
  • Zero tolerance of physical and verbal abuse towards staff.

Protect

  • Wash your hands regularly
  • If you feel unwell, please go home and let someone else stay
  • Visitors must not sit or lay on the bed, chairs are available
  • Do not touch or unplug any equipment or clinical items
  • Ask for assistances but please be patient and kind with staff.

Facilities

  • Please only use the visitor’s toilet opposite the transitional care bay
  • Showers are for patient use only
  • Parking charges apply as normal
  • We are unable to provide pillows or blankets to visitors
  • We cannot provide food or hot drinks to visitors.

 

Antenatal stays:

Overnight visitors only apply to those undergoing induction of labour or in the latent phase of labour. Unfortunately, this does not extend to other antenatal admissions as we do not have the capacity to facilitate this at present.

Postnatal stays:

The opportunity to stay overnight is only for one full night postnatally.

  • If you have your baby before midnight, and are transferred to the ward before 4am, then this will count as your first full night.
  • If you have your baby after midnight, the midwife will review your delivery history with you and discuss whether you wish for this to count as your first night, or to roll it to the following night.