Keeping you safe & comfortable

Handing over information to other staff

The staff involved in your care need up-to-date information about your condition and treatment. Clinical handover involves the sharing of information between staff involved in your care, including you and your family. You can expect that staff will update you and involve you in handover information on a regular basis so that you know what is going on and your healthcare needs are met.

We need to know who you are 

Staff will regularly check your personal details – your name and date of birth and check your identification band if you’re an inpatient. It may feel a bit repetitive but it’s important to ensure your safety. If your personal details are incorrect, please let us know. If you have any concerns, please speak to staff caring for you.

Consent

Before any significant treatment or procedures are carried out, staff caring for you will explain the next steps and seek your agreement to proceed.  Please ask questions so you have enough information to make a decision. You can also change your mind and withdraw consent at any time by telling the clinical staff caring for you. 

Allergies

Please advise your nurse, doctor or other members of your care team if you have any known allergies.

A safe and clean environment

The Alfred undertakes regular, independent, external cleaning audits, and has continued to exceed the required standards set by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.

Keeping our hands clean

Safe care depends on good hand hygiene among our staff, patients and visitors. It is recommended that you use the available hand rub when you enter and leave clinical areas, as it very quickly gets rid of most germs from your hands. Your visitors should also use the hand rub or wash their hands before and after they visit. 

It's OK to ask staff if they have washed or used rub on their hands before they attend to your care. You can find the 'It's OK to ask' brochure in our patient resources.

Isolating infections

In hospitals, germs (such as bacteria and viruses) can be present in the body, or cause infection or illness in a patient. It is important to reduce the risk of spreading these germs to others, so occasionally it is necessary to care for patients in a room by themselves. Staff might wear gloves, gowns or face masks when they come into your room. This is to help prevent a patient’s bacteria, illness or infection being passed onto others in the ward. It is not always possible to tell how long you will need to be isolated, but those caring for you will keep you informed. 

Keep active 

To help keep you as well as possible, it’s important that you keep moving.  Everything you do during your stay contributes to your health – getting up, washed and dressed in your own clothes, sitting out for meals, moving around the ward and participating in any activities and groups available. If staff recommend that you need assistance or supervision when moving, please ask them for assistance and wait until they come to help you. Even moving your toes in bed is helpful in keeping you moving.

If something is not quite right about your medical condition

Let Me Know is a service of The Alfred and it is an important way of involving you and your family in your healthcare team. As your family and friends know you best, it is often they who notice that something is ‘not quite right’ before it’s obvious to staff. Please let us know. There are brochures about this service and you can ask staff for further information.

What if something goes wrong?

Open Disclosure assists patients if they are unintentionally harmed during care. Every patient has the right to be treated with care, consideration and dignity. We respect this right, and we’re committed to improving the safety and quality of the care we deliver. You can find the Open Disclosure brochure in our patient resources.