Please read this guide carefully as it aims to provide you with helpful information about your admission to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH).

Important points to note from this webpage:

  • Certain medicines will need to be stopped prior to surgery
  • To assist with recovery after surgery, your last meal should be nourishing;  try to include plenty of carbohydrate (potato, rice, pasta or bread) and  protein (meat, fish, cheese, egg or pulses)
  • For adult admissions, please report to the admissions lounge (see page  five for details)
  • The NHS has a NO SMOKING policy (see page five for details)

Your medicines

Being a specialist hospital, the Pharmacy Department keeps a limited range of medicines so patients need to bring all of their medication with them.

Also, we ask all patients to bring at least one month’s supply of the medication that they are currently taking. If you are taking medicines via special compliance aids (such as a Dosett™ or Nomad™ boxes), you may not be able to use these in hospital. Please contact the Pharmacy Department on 020 3947 0037 for advice at least four weeks before your admission date.

Failure to bring sufficient supplies of your medication in their original containers may result in a delay to your treatment as the pharmacy may need to purchase medicines that they do not usually keep.

If for any reason you are unable to bring your medicines with you, please arrange for a family member or friend to bring them in on your behalf.

Please give your medication to the nurse on admission. A pharmacist will discuss your medication while you are in hospital so please take this opportunity to ask them any questions you have about your medication.

Important point

You should have been advised about medicines that you will need to stop taking before your planned surgery. These include medicines such as oral contraceptives and HRT. If you have any questions about these or any other medicines, please contact the pre-admission clinic on 020 8909 5630 or pharmacy on 020 3947 0037. Failure to stop taking the medication, as instructed, may result in the cancellation of your surgery.

Please bring the following items in one small bag as storage space is very limited (bags should be no bigger than those permitted by airlines in overhead lockers):

  • One month’s supply of any medications you are taking in their original containers. If you are taking medicines via special compliance aids   (such as a Dosett™ or Nomad™ boxes), you may not be able to use   these in hospital. Please contact the Pharmacy Department on 020 8909 5832 for advice at least four weeks before your admission date
  • Nightdress or pyjamas (front fastening is advisable for upper limb surgery)
  • Dressing gown and sturdy slippers, which have a back (also for day   case admissions)
  • Hairbrush/comb
  • Washing kit, including toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, flannel and towels
  • Shaving items (if applicable)
  • Glasses/hearing aid
  • Dentures
  • Wet wipes and tissues
  • Day clothes, including comfortable shoes
  • Underwear
  • Something to occupy your time, for example, books, magazines,  writing paper (and stamps)
  • Mobile phone – you are permitted to use your mobile phone providing you adhere to our code of conduct, which requires you to ensure the privacy and dignity of other patients and staff. Headphones to listen  to hospital radio or other audio. (Radio Brockley can be accessed  through the Trust’s free Wi-Fi service for patients and visitors)
  • Please bring a card for the hospital trolly shop
  • Small specialist equipment that you use at home, for example, adapted crockery/cutlery or dressing aids
  • Snacks, for example, crisps, biscuits, fruit, bottled squash or cartons of juice

Please do not bring in:

  • Any high risk foods such as cooked meat and poultry products, including paté, meat pies, and products made with fresh cream,  custard, milk, dairy produce or items with raw or partially cooked egg
  • Any items that require preparation, cooking or refrigeration. Our  ward kitchens support the delivery of patients’ meals but are not  equipped to prepare or cook meals
  • Alcohol, as it is not permitted within the hospital buildings or grounds

Special diets

When you are admitted, please let the staff know if you have any special dietary requirements. Please bring any special dietary items with you on admission and discuss these with the nurse on the ward.

Security of personal property

You are responsible for the security of your personal property. Please do not bring large sums of money or valuables into the hospital. If you have brought valuables onto the ward areas, please hand these to one of the nursing staff for safe keeping. Please note that wards have small safes so are unable to store large items such as laptops. The Trust cannot be held liable for the loss of personal property which has not been entrusted into its care.

Documents

Please bring the following documents with you so that we can admit you quickly:

  • Admission letter
  • Any relevant medical information, for example, medical steroid cards  and allergy bracelets
  • A list of your medicines from your GP
  • This booklet
  • Hospital Passport/Communication Book/Health Action Plan

You may be contacted by an occupational therapist before you come into hospital about preparing for your recovery period. If you have any concerns about managing at home after your operation, please contact us on 020 8909 5830 four to six weeks before admission so that we can help you make appropriate arrangements.

Admissions lounge

The admissions lounge is located in the Outpatients’ Department, which is open from 06.00 - 16.00 Monday to Friday. All patients for admissions report to the admissions office, however, if you are being admitted onto the Jubilee Rehab Centre, Coxen Adolescent Unit or the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre, please go straight there upon your arrival. Saturday and Sunday admissions will be contacted separately with information about their ward allocation.

On arrival at the admissions lounge, you will be welcomed, checked in and informed of your ward allocation and when your bed will be ready. You will be assessed by an admissions nurse who will complete a health questionnaire and take your observations. Our admissions administrator will direct you to the appropriate ward if the bed is available immediately or alternatively you may be asked to take a seat in the admissions lounge or the ward dayroom until the ward is ready for you. When you arrive on the ward, you will meet a nurse who will show you to your bed and introduce you to the staff and patients. You will see a doctor and have all the necessary tests undertaken, in preparation for your procedure.

Single sex accommodation

In-patients will share their room with members of the same sex, and same sex toilets and bathrooms will be close to their bed area. Sharing with members of the opposite sex will only happen when clinically necessary (for example where patients need specialist equipment such as intensive care and the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre, but screens are used to ensure patient privacy).

When you are discharged, you will be asked to complete an electronic questionnaire of your experience as a patient at the RNOH. This will only take a few minutes and your comments will help improve the quality of treatment and care at the Trust. Planning for your discharge home needs to start before you arrive so there are no unnecessary delays once you are fit to leave.

Your doctor should have given you an indication of how long they expect you to remain in hospital. The multi-disciplinary team will ensure that this date is discussed each day. Please remember that this is only a guide and patients recover at different rates. When you go home you may need extra support from relatives or friends to help you while you recover fully. Please make sure that you have done the following before your admission:

  • Discussed what help you might need with the pre-admission nurse, doctor  or clinical nurse specialist
  • Made arrangements for your transport home
  • Organised help for when you return home
  • Restarted social services if previously used

The ward staff work to make sure every patient’s return home goes as smoothly as possible and they have the support they need after they leave hospital.

When you are getting ready to go home from hospital, you need to:

  • Take your medicines that may be different to those you were taking before coming into hospital
  • Take any equipment or dressings that you will need at home
  • Take your medical and/or insurance claim certificate
  • Have an outpatient appointment; this may be given to you before you leave but sometimes it will be sent to you in the post
  • Have a Fitness for Work certificate
  • Have written information about anything you need to look out for, or precautions you need to take
  • Take any valuables you handed in for safe keeping
  • Make sure you take all your personal belongings

We will write to your GP the day you go home. The letter we send will explain why you have been in hospital and list any medication you have been given during your stay. If we have asked another healthcare professional to provide you with further care at home, for example the district nurse, we will write to them also. Please ask if you require a copy of these letters.

Patients are responsible for their own transport home. Staff will be able to let you know your discharge date in advance so that you can arrange for a relative, friend or taxi to collect you on the morning of your discharge date. In most cases it will not be appropriate to use public transport. Please note that patients who wish to claim their travel costs must prove that they are eligible to do so by providing relevant benefit documentation and travel receipts. We aim to discharge patients by 11am. Patients who have been discharged but are waiting for medications or transport will be asked to wait in the ward’s day room. Please let the ward staff know as soon as possible if you are experiencing any difficulties with your transport.

The Patient Transport Assessment Scheme

Transport is allocated on medical need. The assessment team will assess your needs through a brief telephone conversation to determine if you are eligible for transport. The interview is completely confidential. If you need assistance with the call, a friend or relative may be able to help you.

To apply for transport, please call the transport eligibility assessment centre on 0800 953 4138. For any patient enquiries relating to booked journeys, please call the transport control room on 020 8909 5895. Please note, patients who are eligible for patient transport are limited to one piece of luggage in, and out, of hospital. Non emergency ambulance transport is only provided for patients who cannot use a car, taxi or public transport due to their medical problem.

London underground/public transport

  • Tube: Jubilee Line to Stanmore
  • Taxi: There is a taxi rank outside Stanmore tube station.

RNOH courtesy vehicle service

The RNOH courtesy vehicle service is a free service for patients, visitors and staff, and operates from Monday to Friday only. Vehicles pick up and drop off from the taxi rank outside Stanmore station only. There are three bus stops within the hospital: Main Gate, Outpatients’ and Orthotics Departments (see site map at the back of this booklet). This service can only accommodate collapsible wheelchairs. This service does not currently accommodate children under the age of 4 years old as the cars do not carry car seats, only booster seats. For the RNOH courtesy vehicle service timetable and further information, please visit our website; www.rnoh.nhs.uk

  • Tube: Northern Line to Edgware
  • Bus: The 107 bus (heading towards New Barnet) travels from the bus station, which is located at the back of the tube station, to the RNOH.

By rail

The nearest railway station is Elstree and Borehamwood (First Capital Connect); you will then need to take the 107 bus (heading towards Edgware) to the RNOH. Further public transport information is available from Transport for London on 0843 222 1234 or visit www.tfl.gov.uk.

By car

M25 Leave at Junction 21a, join the M1 signposted to Harrow/Watford and come off at Junction 4 towards Edgware. At the first roundabout take the third exit towards Stanmore. At the next roundabout take the third exit signposted to the RNOH. The hospital is located at the top of Brockley Hill, on the left hand side.

From central London, the RNOH is best accessed from the A41 northbound towards the M25/M1, Aylesbury, Watford and Elstree. Follow signs for the RNOH.

There is an onsite patient buggy service that can shuttle patients between main locations on site. The buggy can be requested from Main Gate, Outpatients’, and Orthotics reception. It will also stop in the lower patient car park. (Please note: The buggies cannot transport wheelchairs and can only take passengers able to step on the buggy unaided.)

Buggy Timetable: 09:30 – 16:00 Monday to Friday (depending on volunteer availability).

Limited parking is available. Parking outside the Outpatients’ Department is for blue badge holders, drop-off zone and the RNOH courtesy vehicle service.

Photographic name badges are worn by all RNOH staff.

Food and drink

We offer our patients a selection of meals at breakfast, lunch, and supper times. The usual ward routine is as follows:

  • 07:30 - Breakfast
  • 10:00 - Mid morning drink
  • 12:00 - Lunch
  • 15:00 - Tea
  • 17:00 - Supper
  • 21:30 - Bedtime drink

We encourage all patients to make their meal choice from the menus provided. Snacks are also provided mid-morning and in the afternoon. Patients attending as day cases will receive tea and toast after their operation. Protected mealtimes are in place during the lunchtime period, therefore visitors and non ward staff are discouraged from visiting during this time.

Smoking

As smoking can cause fatal diseases for both smokers and those around them, the NHS has adopted a NO SMOKING policy. Visitors, patients and staff may not smoke anywhere within the hospital buildings or grounds.

Telephone

Patients can use their mobile phones at their bed space with prior consent from the senior charge nurse/sister or nurse in charge. When patients are using their mobile phone they have to consider other patients’ dignity and respect. No mobile phones are to be used in clinical areas after 22:30 hours. The authorisation to use mobile phones may be withdrawn at any time due to patient/ward circumstances. Patients can still use their mobile phone in designated areas at any time. All phone users are asked to be considerate about when and where calls are taken.

Our staff have the right to carry out their duties to care for patients without fear of attack or abuse. We will support and protect staff against threatening, disorderly, violent, racist and abusive behaviour and will always press for the strongest penalties against those who attack, threaten or abuse our staff.

Telephone enquiries

We welcome enquiries but they are more easily dealt with in the evenings. It helps us enormously if one person acts as a link between the hospital and your relatives and friends. Please ask them to call 020 3947 0100 and ask for the relevant ward.

Visiting

Please ask visitors to check with the ward for visiting times as these vary. Visiting is restricted to two people per bedside due to lack of space and visitors are not permitted to sit on beds due to the risk of infection. Visitors who are feeling unwell should not visit due to the risk of infection for you and other patients.

The High Dependency Unit does not restrict visiting hours but expects appreciation that visitors may be asked to leave during periods of intensive treatment for their own safety and the safety of other patients.

The Coxen Adolescent Unit has open access for visiting but staff request that consideration is given to other patients on the ward.

Infection control

We have located alcohol hand gel dispensers in all clinical areas. Please use the gel to disinfect clean hands before you visit a friend or relative. Staff working at the RNOH use the gel to disinfect their hands before treating their patients.

Accommodation services

There are a limited number of single occupancy basic rooms available for parents or carers of children under 17 years of age/vulnerable adults and limited accommodation for guests over the age of 18. Most rooms are situated on the first floor so may not be suitable for people with mobility problems. It is advisable to book in advance in order to assess availability and suitability. A parent booking is not a guarantee as we are unable to predict what rooms become available until the admission date. However, a parent maybe able to sleep on the ward if there is a pull out bed available. It is always advisable to add your details in advance on the reservation list in order to assess on the day what is available. For more information, please contact the Accommodation Department between 09.00 and 15.00 (Monday to Friday) on 020 8909 5872.

If a room has been booked and the hospital appointment is cancelled, please notify the Accommodation Department and do not leave a message with any other ward/department, otherwise the full booking charge will be made. A list of local bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels is available from the Accommodation Department or www.rnoh.nhs.uk.

Food Restaurant (formerly Just Eat)

The hospital restaurant offers a range of meals, hot drinks and snacks. Opening times are:

  • 07:30 – 19:00 Monday to Friday
  • 07:30 – 14:30 Saturday and Sunday
  • 07:30 – 12 noon Bank Holidays

A vending area is open 24 hours. The key code is available from the Main Gate.

Costa Coffee

A Costa Coffee bar serving a variety of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and snacks is located inside the Outpatients Department waiting area. Opening times: 08.00 to 17.00 Monday to Friday.

The Stanmore Building

Starbucks coffee shop serving a variety of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and snacks is located on the ground floor.

Opening times: 08:00 - 17:00 Monday to Friday.

The chaplaincy service

The chaplaincy service is here to listen, offer spiritual and religious support and reassurance and will respect your privacy and any confidences you share. Please contact a member of the chaplaincy team on 020 3947 0100 extension 5426 or ask a member of staff to do so.

The PALS Team provide confidential support to patients, families and their carers, and information on the NHS and health-related matters. If you have a concern, please let a member of staff know straight away. Alternatively, you may wish to talk to the ward (or department) manager. If you are still not satisfied or would prefer to discuss the matter further with someone not directly connected with your care, please contact the PALS Team on 020 8909 5439/5717.

If the matter cannot be resolved informally then the Patient Experience Team will advise you on how to go through the formal complaints process.

When attending the hospital you will be asked to confirm your:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Telephone contacts
  • Next of kin
  • General Practitioner’s details
  • Ethnic group
  • Religion

We may use your demographic details to send you information related to Trust developments and activities. If you have any objections to your information being used in this way, please let us know.

Everyone who works in the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential; the RNOH will not pass it on to any other agencies who are not involved in your care without your permission. Appropriate steps will be taken to ensure that both paper and electronic records are held securely and only available to those who have the right to see them.

Patient identifiable information will not be used unless it is absolutely necessary. For uses other than those related to your care, all details that could identify you will be removed. However we will seek your permission if this is not possible. Only those individuals who need access to patient identifiable information should have access to it and they should only have access to the items they need to see.

Individual staff cannot accept gifts or money. However, you may make a donation to your ward. If you wish to do this, please write a cheque payable to the RNOH Charity and give it to the nurse in charge.

The RNOH is a teaching hospital for medical, nursing and allied health professionals. We may introduce students to you. Please allow them to be present during ward rounds and at consultations; however, you have the right to decline their presence at your consultation or access to your information.

RNOH Musculoskeletal Research Programme and Biobank

We are inviting patients to donate tissue and provide the RNOH Musculoskeletal Research Programme and Biobank with access to your clinical notes and imaging records (X-rays and scans).

What is the RNOH Musculoskeletal Biobank?

The RNOH Biobank is a collection of human material including blood, urine, saliva and normal and diseased tissue, for example, bone, cartilage and muscle donated from patients attending various hospitals in the UK and abroad.

What is the purpose of the RNOH Musculoskeletal Biobank?

The purpose of the RNOH Musculoskeletal Biobank is to have tissue available for research projects on musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis, scoliosis (disease of the spine) and bone and soft tissue (muscle) tumours. The research will take place in the UK and abroad.

Why do we want to study your notes and imaging records?

Research adds to our overall understanding of musculoskeletal disease, and may help to design new ways of diagnosing and treating diseases.

Do I have to take part?

No. Whatever your decision, it will not affect any treatment or care you receive in this or any other hospital, now or in the future.

What will it involve if I decide to take part?

You will be asked to sign a consent form that allows:

  • Clinical information to be extracted from your notes and imaging (X-rays   and scans) and then analysed by research teams and used in research projects in the UK and abroad
  • Storing a small piece of tissue, which is surplus to diagnostic requirements, for research projects including genetic research; genetic analysis of your tissue and blood often explains why diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis, and cancer develop
  • Data to be stored on a secure database
  • When required, donation of your blood (up to 50 ml [six to eight teaspoons]) and this may be requested on more than one occasion. Blood sample taking may result in minor discomfort and slight bruising
  • If required, collection of urine and saliva specimens

Additional tissue purely for research purposes is not removed at any time.

All these samples will be collected when visiting the RNOH. We will make every effort to take the blood sample while you are under anaesthetic or having a routine blood test. The saliva sample is taken by gently stroking the inside of your cheek with a cotton swab. We may ask for any of the above samples on more than one occasion but you can refuse at any time without giving a reason and without your medical care being affected.

Will my information be kept confidential?

All your information and your tissue samples will be treated with the strictest confidence. It will also be coded so that it cannot be traced back to you by the researcher. Results from genetic studies will be placed on a database to which only authorised individuals have access. Before having access to your clinical information and/or tissue samples, researchers must agree to conditions, which safeguard your confidentiality.

What will happen if I do not want to carry on with the study?

You are free to withdraw your consent at any time. This means that researchers will no longer be able to access your notes and images, and your tissue samples in the Biobank will be destroyed. You do not have to give a reason for changing your mind. However, if the data has already been used it is not always possible to recall it.

If you would like further information or you have concerns about this research, please contact your doctor/nurse, the RNOH Research and Development Office on 020 8909 5529 and/or visit www.rnoh.nhs.uk

For general enquiries related to your admission:

Printing of this document is only valid on the day printed, please refer to the website for most up to date information:

https://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/patient-information-guides/patients-guide-admission

Page last updated: 05 March 2025