In this section
Outpatient Service
Specialist physiotherapists are available at every outpatient clinic and see all new patients at their first visit to the unit and at first review. We aim to see every patient returning to outpatients after an admission to the ward, to provide routine three monthly reviews for all patients, and to follow up plans regularly. There are separate outpatient clinic appointments available on Monday afternoons for chest clearance advice and nebuliser challenges. Additional sessions for exercise testing advice and support can also be organised.
The Ward
Inpatient services are based on Pearce Ward, a specially designed 15-bed unit for inpatient CF care. All patients are cared for in separate single rooms designed to optimise clinical care whilst also being comfortable and pleasant places to stay. Each room includes a work area, television with Sky TV, refrigerator, fitted units and en-suite washing facilities. There is a separate area for making up drugs, with a separate workbench and drugs fridge. Food is provided by an on-site chef, who will also cater to special nutritional requirements.
The ward also provides a separate room for relatives, physiotherapy treatment rooms, and protected parking if provided nearby for CF patients.
It is important to recognise that although we try to make patients’ stays as comfortable and homely as possible, the priority is to achieve good clinical care. Patients are expected to actively participate in all aspects of their care. Patients wishing to leave the hospital for short periods should discuss this with members of medical or nursing staff beforehand, and should not be absent for more than two hours at a time or after 10pm.
Because of the risks of cross-infection, patients are discouraged from mixing with each other on the ward. In addition, we have two special rooms for those with infections that need isolating. Patients whose sputum grows the easily transmissible forms of cepacia (i.e. where the bug can be spread between patients) will continue to be looked after on Doyle ward but will otherwise receive the same care and services as those looked after on Pearce ward.