Priory Hospital Hemel Hempstead

We encourage people staying with us to visit families and friends. We have a car and a wheelchair minibus along with a full time driver and also care staff who can drive our vehicles. Requests for home visits will be ratified by the patient’s consultant and planned in advance. Any special instructions from the family or the person staying with us will be considered when planning for the visit.

We do not have fixed visiting times. However, we do request all visits to be pre-arranged with the ward to ensure that we have available rooms and staff to facilitate.

We actively encourage relatives to be involved in their loved one’s journey during their stay with us. We do, of course, consider the patient’s wishes in this. Usually, relatives will be invited to regular formal meetings, such as review meetings. Relatives can meet the teams involved in the care of their loved one, as well as communicate with our colleagues either in person, via phone, video or email. Families may be asked for their involvement in care planning and other decisions in the best interests of their loved one. As each person in our care is an individual, so too are their needs and this is reflected in the type and level of family involvement.

We do not have a blanket restriction which prevents people staying with us from having phones. However, we do risk assess this and on occasions, we do need to introduce guidelines as to how the phone can be safely used. For those without phones, each ward has two incoming phone lines and a cordless phone which they can use in private at any time.

The hospital will provide all furniture for the bedrooms, including a television. Meals and snacks are provided by our catering team. If a person staying with us lacked clothing, footwear or toiletries, we would ask families to provide such items, if possible.

All of our bedrooms are furnished with a bed (which can be specialist if needed), desk, chair and wardrobe. All bedrooms are en-suite with a shower, toilet and sink. People staying with us are supported to personalise their rooms, although we would normally retain the use of our furniture as other such items can present as a risk.

External doors and ward doors are locked. Staff are on hand to support access where appropriate. This is for the safety of everyone staying on the wards. Every person staying with us will be individually assessed for any risks to see what security is needed.

We have a catering team who provide three meals per day, and snacks are available at all times. People staying with us are encouraged to choose what they want from menus, which offer a range of meal choices. Our team will also seek guidance from family members, dietitian, and our SaLT, as appropriate, to ensure that special dietary requirements are catered for.

Our team will ensure that patients always have access to clean clothes and bedding. We have industrial laundry facilities on-site. However, wherever possible, we encourage and facilitate people staying with us to look after their own laundry needs too.

Due to the need for safety, we do operate a banned and restricted items policy. This prevents people staying with us from being in possession of certain items which may pose a risk to themselves or others. However, some of these items can still be accessed by the patient by agreeing a plan which reduces such risk. A copy of the banned and restricted items information sheet can be obtained on request.

Due to infection prevention and control requirements, we cannot currently accommodate pets on the wards.

Each ward has a generic activities timetable which provides activities 7 days per week. This involves activities both within the hospital and also in the community. Additionally, each person staying with us has an individual timetable, bespoke to their needs, wishes and abilities. Again, activities are within and also outside the hospital.

People staying with us are always encouraged to have input into their care planning. Should they need to be assessed as lacking capacity to participate in their care planning, then their families would normally be asked to contribute to ensure that the delivery of treatment and care is in their best interests.

We have a large car park at the hospital with dedicated spaces for visitors and disabled visitors.

Priory Hospital Hemel Hempstead is a non-smoking site with a smoking cessation ethos. However, following consultation, we do provide a small smoking area outside of our main perimeter where patients can smoke. Vaping is permitted on-site in outside areas.

We don’t take referrals directly from individuals and families. Instead, the first step will be for you to reach out to the person’s GP so that they can be referred and funded through the correct NHS channel. Depending on the type of support needed, this could include local authority funding, NHS funding, joint funding between the local authority and NHS, or direct payments. Please note, referrals for NHS or local authority funded services must come from a referring organisation.