Rules for visitors

Recommended rules for patient visits

1. Prepare in advance for a patient visit.Consider the patient’s condition and adjust the time and length of the visit and the number of visitors (maximum two people at a time) accordingly.
2. Come appropriately dressed and groomed, be friendly and willing to listen to all the concerns and worries of the sick person.
3. Comfort, encourage, reassure the patient and strengthen their will to recover or at least improve their health condition. Respect their personality and encourage their self-confidence.
4. Avoid trying to have an optimistic talk at any cost. Keep quiet about big worries or, at your discretion, inform the patient to a reasonable extent, but certainly do not shift major decisions to the patient.
5. If the patient wants to express their opinion, listen to them. When the conversation gets stuck, try to be proactive. But, avoid being verbose at all costs.
6. Remember that even silence has its charm and can be therapeutically beneficial. Try to be mindful of situations where the patient is too tired, in which case shorten the visit or finish it in a compassionate friendly silence. Remember that a seriously ill person especially has the right to express not only their fears and worries, but also their sorrow. Avoid being dismissive of the patient’s regrets, despair or resignation. “Fearful conversations” need to be logically chosen from the patient’s point of view, the ventilation of fear has a healing effect; the patient can share his/her burden.
7. Always be considerate of fellow patients. Leave the room if one of them is in a serious condition, if a physician or nurse is performing an examination or a procedure, or if the bedside toilet needs to be done.
8. If you want to bring something to a sick person, remember to be reasonable. Diet is an important part of the healing process.
9. Greet everyone as you enter the room, and wish everyone relief or speedy recovery as you leave.
10. When you say goodbye, say if and when you will come next time. But definitely keep the promised date! Even a small delay is viewed anxiously by the patient because hospital time “drags” slower than normal time.