Welcome to The Harbour
This information is intended to help you feel comfortable and relaxed about visiting your relative/friend/partner whilst they are a patient at The Harbour.
We realise that this is a difficult time for you and your relative/friend/partner, but we would like to assure you that an experienced team of professionals is caring for them during their stay at The Harbour.
A Carer Link is identified on each ward area. Please contact the ward if you wish to speak these or any of the care team staff.
Consent from your relative/friend/partner will need to be obtained before any information can be passed to you, although we welcome any information you can provide us that will assist with care.
We have various procedures in place to ensure that our hospital is safe and secure for all our patients, visitors and staff. We hope that as you become used to visiting, these will be less daunting.
Before you visit
Visiting times wards are:
Everyday 1pm - 7.45pm*
Alternative times maybe arranged on request with the Nurse in Charge or Ward Manager. Please follow this link for contact details
*Visiting times on the Byron and Keats PICU are by arrangement with these wards.
A member of the nursing team will be available to support you throughout the visit.
Occasionally circumstances arise which means the visit is postponed or cancelled at short notice, If you are visiting the PICU, it maybe useful to phone first to ensure the visit can still go ahead.
We do not allow under 18's to enter the wards, but we have 2 Family visiting rooms available, with toys & games which younger visitors are welcome to use. These visits must be arranged in advance and booked with the ward to ensure the room is available.
When you arrive
Parking is free. At reception, please inform the staff whom you are visiting. They will provide you with a visitors badge after asking you a couple of details. This is a necessary requirement for your safety in the event of fire evacuation. You will be asked to wear this badge at all times. They will then direct you to the ward you are visiting.
To get to the ward, you will pass through a door that can only be unlocked by a staff member.
During your visit
Your visit will take place on the ward, in the designated visiting area. This will be set-aside for you. In the interest of preserving other patients' privacy and confidentiality, we ask that you do not wander about in the ward.
Please note that The Harbour and the surrounding hospital site is a NON- SMOKING facility for ALL visitors, patients and staff.
Additionally, it may be possible for you to go for a walk outside or attend the Hospital café with your relative/friend/partner. This may have to be agreed in advance by the care team in some circumstances.
When you leave The Harbour, please hand your visitors badge back into main reception.
Restricted items
In the interest of promoting a safe and secure therapeutic environment for all, we find it necessary to limit or deny access to certain types of items, which our experience tells us could be potentially harmful or risky to people, or damaging to property.
The primary nurse or the nurse in charge will be very happy to explain the details to you, if you wish, but here are some general guidelines to help you;
We don't allow free access to:
- Matches or cigarette lighters
- Sharp implements such as knives, tools or other utensils, drawing pins etc
- Alcohol/Drugs or medication of any kind
- Glass, tins or pots, plastic bags
- Recording instruments; cameras, camcorders, tape-recorders, blank tapes
- Lap-top/palm-top computers/personal organisers