Staying in hospital

When you arrive at hospital, go straight to the ward to be admitted. On the ward, you will be welcomed by a member of our nursing team who will take your details and show you around the ward. All wards have an individual routine, and this will be explained to you. Please ask the nursing staff if you have any questions about your stay.  

Before treatment, your doctor will discuss it in detail and address any questions or concerns. 

If needed, you will sign a consent form, confirming your understanding and agreement, particularly for procedures involving anaesthesia or significant risks.  

A relative or friend can come with you and can stay with you while you are admitted. If you are a day patient (outpatient) and are having any form of anaesthetic, we recommend that you arrange for someone to take you home. 

Chesterfield Royal Hospital will not accept responsibility or liability for any lost or damaged patient property, under any circumstances. We strongly advise you not to bring the following items to our hospital wards:

• Valuables — jewellery, chequebooks or credit cards
• Large amounts of money
• Large amounts of food
• Alcohol or tobacco products
• Portable televisions or radios

Please visit here for more information. 

We are fully compliant with the government's single-sex accommodation requirements.  

Sharing with members of the opposite sex will only happen in exceptional circumstances. For example, if you need specialist equipment in critical care areas. In such circumstances we will aim to minimise as far as possible, the likelihood of shared sex accommodation happening.   

See our Same Sex Accommodation page for more information

We have protected mealtimes on all our adult wards. This means that at set times throughout the day, all non-urgent clinical activity stops so that patients can eat their meals without interruption.  

The protected mealtimes are:  

• Lunch: 1pm-2pm  

• Dinner: 6pm-7pm  

We have a variety of menus to meet your dietary preferences, cultural or religious needs. If you have any special dietary requirements, a dietician can help arrange suitable choices.  

Outside of mealtimes, there is access to food, drinks and snacks 24 hours a day. Please ask a member of staff should you need anything to eat outside of mealtimes.  

We serve hot drinks during the day (mid-morning, mid-afternoon and early evening) and you will also have a jug of water which is refreshed twice a day.  

If you need any help with eating and drinking, please let a member of staff know. Sometimes it’s helpful for your family members or carers to come in during mealtimes and assist you with your meal. We welcome their support. They should speak to the nurse in charge about this. 

Food hygiene regulations mean we’re unable to store or reheat food brought in from home.  

We have a number of digital facilities to keep you comfortable whilst you are in our care: 

• Free NHS Wi-Fi 

• Free 24 hour radio (local and national stations) 

• Television (fees apply) 

• Hospedia Information Channel 

• Free messaging service with your friends and family 

See our Hospedia page for more information on TV and telephone fees 

If you bring your own mobile phone or other electronic device (e.g. tablet/iPad) into hospital with you, please speak to our ward staff about arrangements for you to use your device and to safely charge it.

Unfortunately, there will be restrictions in some settings where you will be unable to use your own device so that we can maintain patient safety. Do not plug your device charger in without staff permission. 

We have a number of shopping and food outlets in our hospital: 

• Shop@theRoyal – Cold food, drinks, snacks and magazines 

• Cafe@theRoyal – Hot food, breakfast, main meals, snacks, hot and cold drinks 

• Pharmacy@theRoyal - Over-the-counter and prescription medication

• Costa Coffee 

• Post Office 

• The Retreat – Hot and cold meals and drinks 

See our facilities page for more information on what we offer. 

We’re a smoke-free trust and smoking and vaping are not permitted on our grounds or in our buildings.  

Smoking increases your risk of problems during and after your operation. Quitting 4–6 weeks before your operation and staying smoke-free 4 weeks after it can decrease your rate of wound complications by 50%. 

If you smoke and would like some support to stop smoking while you’re an inpatient, please ask your doctor to refer you to our friendly and supportive stop-smoking team.