Welcome to the Mary Anning Unit

This information is for you and your visitors. It explains what you need to know about your stay on the Mary Anning Unit.

Who are we?

The Mary Anning Unit is a 46-bedded acute medical ward, specialising in the care of older people.

The team

You will be looked after by members of the multi-disciplinary team during your stay. Along with the doctors and nurses, this may include dieticians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and members of the discharge team. Pictures of the team can be seen on the photo boards on the ward.

What we will do

We will work with you and your Next of Kin/nominated person to understand your wishes about your care, treatment and discharge plans.

What we would like you to do – advice for patients and visitors

During your stay we will encourage you to keep to your normal routines as much as possible. This includes getting up out of bed, getting dressed and walking to the bathroom if you are able. Doing this can help with a faster recovery. It would be helpful if relatives or friends could bring you in some toiletries and clothing for your stay. This could include:

• Comfortable daywear, underwear and well-fitting shoes
• Nightwear
• Toiletries – toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, shaving kit
• Any continence products you may use
• Your normal mobility aid – walking stick, frame, prosthesis
• Glasses and hearing aids.

The ward cannot take responsibility for lost property, so please consider taking valuables home. Unfortunately, we cannot provide a laundry service, so your relatives will be asked to do this.

To help us care for you, we would like you or the person who knows you best, to complete a ‘This is Me’ booklet. This tells us about the things that are important to you and helps us get to know you and your needs.

Discharge planning

We will start planning for your discharge when you arrive on the ward. We want to know about your normal routine at home and about any care or equipment that you might use. We would also like to know about anything that might stop you returning home once you no longer need to be in hospital for medical treatment.

It is important that, once you no longer need to be in hospital, you are discharged to a place where your needs are met so that we can care for other people who are very unwell. Unfortunately, this may not be your first choice of discharge destination or care provision.

If you have any questions about your treatment or discharge plans, please talk to a member of the team to discuss them as soon as possible. This will allow us to address any issues and prevent delays in your discharge.

Contact numbers

We hope that you have found this information useful. If you have any questions or are worried about anything, please speak to the following Dorset County Hospital staff:

The Mary Anning Unit
(East) 01305 255219
(West) 01305 255213

Patient Experience team
0800 783 8058
patientexperience@dchft.nhs.uk

Support for discharge planning

CHS (support when looking for Care Agencies or Residential/Nursing homes for those who are self-funding)
0800 056 4103

Dorset Social Services
01305 221016

Useful websites

Dorset Social Services: www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/care-and-support-for-adults/care-and-support-for-adults (useful information about benefits and resources to support people at home)

Age UK: www.ageuk.org.uk

About this leaflet

Author: Kate Rourke, Advanced Clinical Practitioner
Written: June 2022
Updated and approved: May 2023
Review date: May 2026
Edition: v2

If you have feedback regarding the accuracy of the information contained in this leaflet, or if you would like a list of references used to develop this leaflet, please email patientinformation.leaflets@dchft.nhs.uk