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How do I call someone in hospital?

I need to call someone in hospital. How do I do this?! I only know the ward number. Is it acceptable to call that and ask to talk to ___? Do I give just his first name or surname as well?

Sorry! I just hate, hate, hate phones ... and doing things "wrong" ... and hospitals, actually!

Also, what's the procedure for visiting someone in hospital?

Ugh. I kind of hate myself for stressing more about my own stupid fears than someone I care about being ill. Seriously ... I'll probably back out of calling them because of a minute of potential uncomfortableness. How ****ing selfish!

Anyway, please help me!

:rolleyes:

Reply 1

supreme

4

toothpastecrazy

I need to call someone in hospital. How do I do this?! I only know the ward number. Is it acceptable to call that and ask to talk to ___? Do I give just his first name or surname as well?

Sorry! I just hate, hate, hate phones ... and doing things "wrong" ... and hospitals, actually!

Also, what's the procedure for visiting someone in hospital?

Ugh. I kind of hate myself for stressing more about my own stupid fears than someone I care about being ill. Seriously ... I'll probably back out of calling them because of a minute of potential uncomfortableness. How ****ing selfish!

Anyway, please help me!

:rolleyes:

Yes you can ring the ward and ask to speak to the patient Y. They will probably ask who you are. They may give you the patient's extension number so Y can take the call at their bedside. Nearly all wards you can visit but they have visiting times, this is a period of time where you are permitted to visit.

Reply 2

mollymustard

14

I'm not sure about the calling thing, but you can usually vist someone in hospital during visiting hours.

Ite really depends on what ward it is to what hours you can visit but you can usually go in at about 10-12 ish.

If you call the ward number you can always ask what the visiting times are and also how you can contact the person you want to speak to.

I remember all this from when my close mate was in hospital after she got run over. It was a bit confusing at times (finding the ward etc etc) but its worth going just to see the smile on the persons face.

Reply 3

toothpastecrazy

OP

Thank you! Quick responses, guys. LOL.

Sooo ... do I say his first name and surname or just first name? I know it doesn't matter ... but I'd still like to know!

Reply 4

RK

TSR Community Staff

22

toothpastecrazy

Thank you! Quick responses, guys. LOL.

Sooo ... do I say his first name and surname or just first name? I know it doesn't matter ... but I'd still like to know!

I think giving surname as well would be a good idea as there could be more than one person with the same first name and potentially some patients might mainly be known as Mr A or Mrs B, rather than their first names.

Reply 5

Crisps

13

If the hospital runs pateintline, you can call a phone directly to their bedside. You need to know the bed number though, which will require you asking the patient or someone on the ward.

Reply 6

CheesyBeans

1

When my boyfriends mum was in hospital he was given a so called direct number to phone her but always ended up talking to reception or whatever. He just had to state his mum's full name and they connected him to her bedside phone.

Reply 7

supreme

4

mollymustard

I'm not sure about the calling thing, but you can usually vist someone in hospital during visiting hours.

Ite really depends on what ward it is to what hours you can visit but you can usually go in at about 10-12 ish.

If you call the ward number you can always ask what the visiting times are and also how you can contact the person you want to speak to.

I remember all this from when my close mate was in hospital after she got run over. It was a bit confusing at times (finding the ward etc etc) but its worth going just to see the smile on the persons face.

Mornings are very busy on wards so visiting is normally in the afternoon until tea time and for a few hours in the evening. However the TS needs to ask the ward their visiting times as this can vary.

Reply 8

supreme

4

toothpastecrazy

Thank you! Quick responses, guys. LOL.

Sooo ... do I say his first name and surname or just first name? I know it doesn't matter ... but I'd still like to know!

No offence but I can't believe you even have to ask this. If you give a first name they might not know the patient on first name terms or several patients may have the same names so they will ask you for the surname. Its just like making a normal phone call!

Reply 9

mollymustard

14

supreme

Mornings are very busy on wards so visiting is normally in the afternoon until tea time and for a few hours in the evening. However the TS needs to ask the ward their visiting times as this can vary.

Oh right...
My local hospital likes 10am onwards.

Reply 10

~Kirsty~

1

None of the hospitals i've done placements in yet have these fancy bedside phones. :frown:

Call the ward, ask to speak to the patient, at the end of the day the worse the nursing staff can do is say no (which they may do if its a busy ward, they would like to keep the phone lines free etc), ask about visiting hours - some hospitals are stricter than others. :smile:

Reply 11

InArduisFouette

21

toothpastecrazy

I need to call someone in hospital. How do I do this?! I only know the ward number. Is it acceptable to call that and ask to talk to ___? Do I give just his first name or surname as well?

if the person is an inpatient, in general, you will NOT be able to speak to them via the hospital switchboard and it's general numbers,

if the hospital has patientline or similar they will have a (rip off) 07000 number for calls inwards - calls out aren't too bad

also the rules over mobiles have changed and many hospitals are now either allowing or turning a blind eye to mobile use on general wards

Sorry! I just hate, hate, hate phones ... and doing things "wrong" ... and hospitals, actually!

Also, what's the procedure for visiting someone in hospital?

how do you mean 'procedure'

beyond appearing on the ward they are on during the published visiting times ?

How do I call someone in hospital?

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