Admission

Going home

Discharge date
From 1st July 2009, a whiteboard will hang above your bed. The items below can be noted daily on this board:

• name of your doctor/ward doctor
• names of nursing staff responsible during day, evening and night shifts
• planned date of discharge

By using these whiteboards, we can give better up-to-date information. At an early stage of your stay in the hospital, we will note your targetted discharge date. This date can be altered during your stay. Your confirmed discharge date and discharge time will be shown on the board at least 48 hours before discharge so that your contact persons have plenty time to make any necessary arrangements.

We aim to keep the stay in the hospital as short as possible so that the patient can quickly return to his/her home environment. Of course the patient’s full recovery before discharge is of primary importance.

Discharge
Your specialist will tell you when you may go home. Normally, you will be told the time at which you may leave hospital one day in advance of your discharge (it is usually between 9.00 - 10.00 hrs) but this can also be at very short notice. Your doctor will discuss with you any further treatment you might need following your discharge from hospital. An appointment will be made for you for an outpatient check-up if necessary and/or you will be given a prescription for medication. The specialist will inform your GP in writing of your stay in hospital and about any necessary after-care.

After-care needs assessment
The medical social work department ("afdeling medisch maatschappelijk werk") arranges after-care for this hospital. The ‘transfer point’ is part of the medical social work department. It is important to let the department know whether you need home help (or admission elsewhere) as soon as possible in order to receive help following your discharge from hospital. You can inform the nursing staff on your ward or you (or a member of your family) can contact the medical social work department by telephone on 070 - 312 46 48.

Once the medical social worker has received a request from the ward, he or she will come to see you to discuss the various options with you. The medical social worker will arrange the after-care. The assessment is sometimes dealt with immediately but it can also take a few days. It is not possible to request after-care before you have been admitted to hospital. Whether or not you are eligible for after-care depends on the progress of your stay in hospital and the need for care at the time of discharge. Of course, you may arrange after-care privately at your own expense. The medical social worker can advise you on this issue.

Transport home
It could be possible that you have to be taken home by ambulance for medical reasons. It is advisable to ask your insurance company for information about the repayment of these costs before being admitted to hospital. You will need a declaration from the ward secretary in order to claim this.

Payment
Invoices are drawn up following your discharge from hospital. Expenses are calculated using the Dutch DBC (Diagnosis and Treatment Combinations) declaration system. A total price is calculated for your diagnosis and treatment. As a result, the various parts of your treatment are not calculated separately. A specification is, however, made on the bill.

If Bronovo Hospital has a contract with your insurance company, the bills are sent directly to the insurance company. In all other cases, the bill is sent to your home address and it is your responsibility to ensure that the bills are paid and/or submitted to your insurance company.