Hospitalization

If the patient, after an out-patient visit, must be hospitalized, he or she will be put on the waiting list of the appropriate facility.

Routine hospitalization occurs in the shared hospital rooms fully paid for by the National Public Healthcare Service, or in one of the separate rooms (single rooms at the cost of a hotel room).

These rooms have a private bathroom, a television, a telephone and a sofa-bed for an accompanying person who can, upon request made to the Nursing Coordinator, by payment have lunch and/or dinner in the room. To obtain a separate room one must request it upon making the hospitalization appointment; if you are already an in-patient the request can be made to the nursing coordinator who will make arrangements according to the department’s availability.

The patient will be informed by telephone, on brief advance notice, to go directly to the in-patient ward or to the Pre-hospitalization and Hospitalization Coordination Center, on the scheduled day, according to the indications provided during the telephone call.

It is advised to bring one’s personal belongings and medical documents indicating related treatments that could be useful to the department’s doctors. Upon hospitalization, an identification bracelet with a barcode is placed on all in-patients.

If the patient is asked to go to the Pre-hospitalization and Hospitalization Coordination Center he or she can do the basic tests in advance in order to start the diagnostic-therapeutic process.

The Hospitalization Coordination Center is located on the 3rd floor wing F of the Policlinico and is open from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday and from 7:30 am to 1:00 pm on Saturdays.

It is also possible to be hospitalized by payment, choosing to be treated by your own trusted specialist, for an amount previously decided, in addition to the hotel fee.

Urgent treatments are carried out at the Emergency Room, open 24 hours a day.
In the event that the Emergency Room Doctor determines the need for urgent hospitalization he or she will immediately proceed to do so.

When this is not possible, the Emergency Room Service will see to finding placement in another hospital.

In the event a woman, who is hospitalized to give birth, or for other cases foreseen by law, does not wish to state her name, the patient will not be identified during the hospitalization period and the medical record will remain anonymous.

The head of the department and assistance organization is a 2nd level Medical Director, assisted by other Medical Directors. Since the Policlinico is a university education forum, other Doctors (residents or interns) take part in the assistance activities; even students of the School of Medicine and Surgery are authorized to visit the department.

The department’s medical staff, after obtaining the patient’s medical history and having visited the patient, will request the necessary tests and will decide the most appropriate therapy.

It is important to inform the Doctors about regularly taken medication. Even the patient’s nutrition will be personalized according to his or her medical needs: if there are specific nutritional needs the department Doctor must be informed.

The nursing and auxiliary team coordination is assigned to the Head Nurse, who assists the Doctors in the department’s assistance organization and management and maintains relations with the Diagnosis and Treatment Services. One can ask the Head Nurse information about the functioning and organization within the department or of the Policlinico, in general.
Nurses assist patients personally. Their tasks include: administering oral and intramuscular treatments, drawing blood, grafting and iv monitoring.
Nurses wear a white uniform, while nursing students are recognizable by their turquoise uniforms.

They deal with cleaning the areas and transportation and they wear a light green uniform.
Some of them, who have attended a specific course obtaining the title “Technical Assistance Operator”, support nurses in simple assistance procedures and wear a light blue uniform.

Patients may encounter other professional figures with assistance roles, such as Obstetricians, Radiology technicians and Physiotherapists in the department or during tests and therapeutic treatments.

Patients can ask a Healthcare Assistant about any administrative procedures or information regarding treatment follow-up in another structure (for example, rehabilitation center or long-term care facility)

In addition, there is a Social Assistant, who works directly with the Healthcare Management and can be consulted in cases of social and economic problems that arise during the hospitalization period, and a Dietician, whose role is to assess, upon the request of the department’s Doctor, special nutritional needs and provide information to the Nutrition Service in order to choose the most appropriate diet.

1. RIGHTS REGARDING PREVENTIVE MEASURES
   Every person has the right to receive appropriate services in order to prevent an illness.
2. ACCESSIBILITY RIGHTS
   Every person has the right to receive medical services that his or her health requires. Healthcare services must guarantee the same accessibility to everyone, without discriminating on the basis of financial resources, place of residency, type of illness or when starting the service. 
3. RIGHTS FOR RECEIVING INFORMATION
   Every person has the right to have access to all types of information that deal with his or her state of health, as well as healthcare services and how to use them, including all the services that scientific research and technological innovation make available. 
4. CONSENT RIGHTS
   Every person has the right to have access to all types of information that permit him or her to have an active part in making decisions regarding his or her health. This information is a prerequisite for every procedure and service, including participating with scientific research. 
5. RIGHTS TO CHOOSE FREELY
   Every person has the right to freely choose among various health treatment procedures and providers given the appropriate information. 
6. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY RIGHTS
   Every person has the right to confidentiality of personal information, including regarding his or her state of health and possible diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, as well as having the right to privacy protection during diagnostic exams, specialist visits and medical-surgical treatments, in general.    
7. RIGHT TO RESPECT PATIENT’S TIME
   Every person has the right to receive the necessary medical treatments in a quick and fixed period of time. This right applies to every treatment phase.    
8. RIGHT TO RESPECT QUALITY STANDARD
   Every person has the right to have access to high quality healthcare services, based on the definition and on respect of specific standards.  
9. RIGHT TO SAFETY
   Every person has the right to be safeguarded from injuries caused by the malfunctioning of healthcare services, malpractice and medical errors, and has the right to have access to healthcare services and treatments that guarantee high safety standards. 
10. RIGHT TO INNOVATION
    Every person has the right to have access to innovative, including diagnostic, procedures, according to international standards and regardless of economic or financial concerns.  
11. RIGHT TO AVOID UNNECESSARY SUFFERING AND PAIN
    Every person has the right to avoid as much suffering as possible in every phase of his or her illness.  
12. RIGHT TO A PERSONALIZED TREATMENT
    Every person has the right to diagnostic or therapeutic programs as appropriate as possible to his or her personal needs. 
13. RIGHT TO COMPLAIN
    Every person has the right to make a complaint each time he or she has been harmed and has the right to receive a response or other type of feedback.  
14. RIGHT TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION
    Every person has the right to receive an adequate compensation, in a reasonably short period, each time he or she has been harmed, physically or morally and psychologically, caused by a healthcare service treatment.

1. Patients, who enter a healthcare facility, are asked to behave responsibly, respecting and understanding the rights of other sick patients, and to collaborate with the medical, nursing and technical staff as well as with the management of that medical facility. 
2. Admission into a hospital or another healthcare facility indicates the patient’s trust and respect toward the medical staff, which is an essential prerequisite for a proper therapeutic and assistance program approach.  
3. It is every patient’s obligation to promptly inform doctors of the intention to forgo,  according to his or her own will, scheduled medical treatments and services, in order to avoid a loss of time and resources. 
4. Patients are required to respect the hospital areas, equipment and furnishings that are within the hospital facility, considering them everyone’s, including their own, property. 
5. Whoever is in an USL medical facility (hospital, clinic, etc.) is asked to respect the visiting hours established by the Healthcare Management in order to allow the regular therapeutic assistance activities to take place and to facilitate the tranquility and rest of other patients. Furthermore, it is reminded that for health-hygienic reasons and for respect toward other in-patients in the hospital room, it is necessary to avoid crowding around beds. 
6. For hygienic-health safety reasons regarding children, it is advised against bringing minors under the age of twelve to hospital visits. Exceptions concerning specific emotional implications can be taken into consideration by consulting the ward’s medical staff. 
7. In particular cases, visits to patients, other than during the established visiting hours, must be authorized with a written permission issued by the Head Doctor or by a person he or she has delegated. In such cases, the authorized relative must comply       to the ward’s rules and appropriately respect the hospital area, while facilitating the highest collaboration with the medical operators.  
8. Being part of a community, it is necessary to avoid any behavior that creates situations of disturbance or discomfort to other patients (noise, lights turned on, high-volume radios, etc.).
9. Everyone must respect other patients’ rest, during the day as well as at night. Lounges are located within each ward, available to those who wish to take part in recreational activities. 
10. Smoking is forbidden in the hospital. Respecting this provision is a gesture toward accepting being around other people and represents a healthy personal way of life within the hospital facility. 
11. The hospital’s organization and established hours must be respected in every circumstance. Medical services not requested in the proper manner are considered a significant disservice for all users. 
12. It is appropriate that patients and visitors move within the hospital facilities using the hallways specifically for them in order to reach specific intended areas. 
13. The medical staff, within its duties, is asked to make others respect the stated rules in order for the department to run properly and for the patients’ wellbeing.
14. Patients have the right to be properly informed about a healthcare facility’s organization, but they also have the specific obligation to do so within the appropriate timeframe and location.

Every patient who enters the hospital has various characteristics and needs: the hospital’s task is to establish a therapeutic agreement which takes into consideration, as much as possible, such needs, seeking to protect the patient’s health, defined as “state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not simply the absence of an illness” (OMS). Children, in particular, need specific protection because of their vulnerability which distinguishes their period of growth.

1. RIGHTS TO PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
   Children have the right, starting from the perinatal stage, to services in order to promote their health and to prevent an illness. 
2. RIGHT TO RECEIVE TREATMENTS
   Children have the right to have access to healthcare services necessary for their state of health, without discriminating on the basis of origin, religion, financial resources, place of residency and type of illness. 
3. RIGHT TO RESPECT THEIR PERSONA
   Children, when starting a treatment, have the right that their personal and cultural identity and religion be respected. Children have the right to be called by name during their hospitalization and not by a number or their illness. 
4. RIGHT TO BE ASSISTED IN A COMPREHENSIVE MANNER
   The treatment process must be aimed at “taking care” of the child overall, taking into consideration even psychological and interpersonal aspects, as well as those related to the young patient’s quality of life. 
5. RIGHT TO BE INFORMED AND TO EXPRESS ONE’S OWN OPINION
   Children have the right to be informed about their conditions and procedures that they will undergo, using language that is appropriate to their development and maturity, and to freely express their opinion. An area suitable for communication must be guaranteed to children and their families. 
6. RIGHT TOWARD RESPECTING QUALITY STANDARD AND SAFETY
   Children have the right to have access to healthcare services that respect the best standards of quality and safety. 
7. RIGHT TO INNOVATION
   Children have the right to have access to innovative and updated procedures regarding the most recent scientific research progress. 
8. RIGHT TO AN APPROPRIATE TREATMENT ENVIRONMENT
   Children have the right to receive treatments in a pleasant environment and that is appropriate to their age and needs, as well as to being assisted by staff that has been specifically trained in the pediatric field. 
9. RIGHT TO A PERSONALIZED TREATMENT
   Children have the right to undergo diagnostic and therapeutic programs that are adapted to each patient on the basis of his or her therapeutic needs, family background and personal preferences, when possible.  
10. RIGHT TO PROTECTING MENTAL-PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
    The hospital encourages the presence, as on-going as possible, of a relative in the diagnosis and treatment areas. In cases of prolonged hospitalization, the continuation of the child’s educational-scholastic path is guaranteed. 
11. RIGHT TO BE PROTECTED FROM ABUSE
    Children have the right to be protected from every type of abuse, meaning each type of physical and/or psychological mistreatment, exploitation, sexual abuse, abandonment, carelessness or negligence. 
12. RIGHT TO AVOID UNNECESSARY SUFFERING AND PAIN
    Children have the right to express their pain and suffering, as well as to receiving every appropriate treatment in order to prevent pain and suffering from occurring and to reduce its perception to a minimum. 
13. RIGHT TO PALLIATIVE TREATMENTS
    When children are in the advanced phase of an illness and determined incurable, they have the right to receive a continuous evaluation of their needs and an appropriate control of pain and other physical and psychological symptoms that create suffering, in order to guarantee them the best quality of life possible.

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In addition to rights and obligations, additional suggestions to improve patients’ stay in the facility are:

• Patients can leave their rooms for short periods, beyond the medical visits timeframe and scheduled hours for tests, informing the assistance staff beforehand. In the event of imperative personal needs, patients can ask for permission to leave the Policlinico, according to the procedures indicated by the Head Nurse.
• The ward is a place of care, so it is necessary that patients adapt their behaviors for respect of other patients. It is important that patients’ relatives and friends avoid disrupting assistance activities during visiting hours. Flowers and plants make the environment more welcoming, but they are not allowed in the patient’s room.
• For hygienic and safety reasons it is prohibited to throw out any object from the windows or place anything on the window ledges.
• The Management is not responsible for any stolen objects. It is advised to avoid keeping large amounts of money, precious valuables or objects. If necessary, it is possible to store them through the procedures indicated by the Head Nurse.
• Collaboration and exchange of medical information among the department Doctors and family Practitioners are not only permitted, they are welcomed.
• Family Practitioners can have access, through established procedures, to such information and the department Doctors can receive updates on the patient’s state of health through the family Practitioner.
• Since it is not allowed to provide patients’ information by telephone, patients are asked to inform relatives of Doctors’ office hours that are indicated in the ward.

When being discharged, patients are requested to fill out the “patients’ questionnaire” which can be placed into the specific U.R.P. box located in the ward.

If, during the hospitalization period, patients need a hospital certificate indicating the diagnosis, they can request it from the department Doctor. Hospitalization certificates that do not indicate the diagnosis are issued by the Hospitalization Registration Procedure Office located on the 3rd floor.

Medical records and other certificates are issued by the Medical Records Archive which store hospitalization, routine and day hospital, medical records, as well as emergency room reports.

The Archive issues, in addition to photocopies of the above-mentioned medical documents, the discharge certificate indicating the diagnosis and other legal certificates.

Requests, payment of due amount and pick-ups are carried out at the Hospitalization Procedures Office located on the 3rd floor:

• Monday to Friday: from 8:30 am to 3:15 pm
• Saturday: from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm.

For additional information contact the following telephone number: 06 3052.591

Medical documents and certificates can be requested by anyone, but are given only to patients or person bringing a proxy authorization form signed by the patient, along with a legal identification document, original or photocopy, of the delegator and of the proxy.

In the case of minors, parents or legally nominated tutors have the right to pick up medical documents.

In the case of a deceased patient, the entitled people to pick up medical documents are non-divorced spouses, children, parents or others according to the legal indications.