Clinical helpline
The clinical helpline is open between 10am and 6pm, seven days a week, to provide updates on patients being cared for on our inpatient wards. This can be accessed by telephoning 01284 713155.
The nationally award-winning helpline is staffed by a team of experienced qualified nurses. We can access live updates of patients records. We follow strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) checks and the person calling will need to be registered as an emergency contact or next of kin before we can share any information.
We recognise that it’s not always easy to visit patients in the hospital site. If you are unwell, we encourage you to remain at home until you are symptom free to help protect the patients and staff in the hospital. You must not visit patients in hospital if you have any symptoms of COVID, diarrhoea, vomiting or any other infectious condition. Patients also may have contagious infections which may prevent you from being able to visit if you are vulnerable/immunosuppressed. You may live long distances away or struggle with transport, preventing you from visiting regularly. In these situations, it’s ideal to call the clinical helpline team for updates.
The clinical helpline can go through latest plans of care that have been documented. We can check observations and medications and can give the time to help explain things so that the caller understands, as we appreciate that medical terminology can be confusing. We are also able to contact staff working on the wards if you need further advice or information, or you need to provide helpful information about the patient to those caring for them.
We always have someone on site during the week to help with anything that needs resolving in person.