Patients

To ensure patient safety during surgery, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital follows the World Health Organization’s “Surgical Safety Checklist.” The checklist applies safeguards at three points during the surgical process – prior to anesthesia, prior to incision, and prior to leaving…

Patients are isolated to prevent the spread of disease to other people in the medical environment. Isolated persons are typically either highly contagious or infected by a treatment-resistant organism. Isolated persons may also be those who are immunosuppressed. Medical personnel…

While at the QEH, all the usual rules about personal hygiene apply, and then some. Frequent hand washing and dressing changes are important. Urinary catheter drainage bags should be kept below hip level. Also, if you have relatives at home…

Falls are a leading source of hospital injury, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital does not want you to fall. The best way to avoid a fall is to call for assistance from a member of your treatment team whenever you…

This is another safety precaution. Your nurses ask you about using the bathroom as a way of preventing falls. If a nurse is present, he or she can assist you in getting back and forth. Using the restroom while alone…

No. Prescriptions issued in the polyclinic cannot be filled in the QEH Pharmacy.

No. Prescriptions issued at the QEH cannot be filled in the polyclinics. However, in special circumstances where the Pharmacy needs to be closed for an extended period of time, arrangements would be made for hospital prescriptions to be filled at…

Drug names can be long and difficult to pronounce, but the good news is that you don’t have to be a Pharmacist to accurately keep track of your medications. Keep an updated list of your prescriptions, with dosages, frequencies, side…

Always ask your treatment team members if you have any questions or concerns about your medications. To practice safe medication protocol from the beginning of your visit, provide your team with an accurate list of your medications and their dosages…

Confirming your identity is a safety precaution. Anyone providing you with medical care such as an IV drip or prescription medication, must verify your identity to ensure that the right patient is receiving the appropriate care. Redundant sources of information…