Flowers for patients at University Hospital Waterford

About the hospital

University Hospital Waterford (Ospidéal na hOllscoile, Port Láirge in Irish) is a teaching hospital in Waterford, formerly known as Waterford Regional Hospital. It is managed by the South/Southwest Hospital Group. The hospital has 429 beds, of which 71 are reserved for acute day cases, and a further 45 beds are for psychiatric services. University College Cork is its main academic link, and it is also affiliated with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

The hospital has its origins in the Ardkeen Chest Hospital, established in 1952. After services moved from St Patrick's Hospital in Waterford in 1959, it grew into a general hospital. New facilities, including an accident and emergency department, a neonatal unit and a CT scanning unit, were opened in May 2014, when the hospital was renamed University Hospital Waterford. Many local people still say Regional or even Ardkeen, so check the patient's ward rather than relying on a name.

Check with the ward before you order

Hospitals set their own rules about flowers. Some wards allow a small bouquet at the bedside, and others ask visitors not to bring any because of infection control, space or other patients. Units such as intensive care generally do not accept them. Ring the hospital, ask for the ward and ask the nurse in charge what is permitted that day.

If flowers are not allowed, ask about cards, a small gift or a balloon, and whether the ward has a rule about those too. If the stay is likely to end soon, plan to send the bouquet to the patient's home instead.

What to put on the order

Include the patient's full name, the ward, the hospital name and Waterford as the town. A hospital that serves a large catchment area may have two people with similar names on the same corridor, so the full name matters. If you do not know the ward, ask a relative rather than guessing.

Keep the card short. "Thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery" is warm and easy to read. Avoid medical details, because cards can be seen by other patients and visitors.

Picking flowers for a ward

A compact, lightly scented arrangement is ideal. Carnations, chrysanthemums, alstroemeria and gerberas last in warm wards, and a small round bowl of mixed flowers fits on most lockers. Avoid lilies and other strongly scented stems, because patients can be sensitive. Bright colours cheer up a plain room, and yellow, coral and pink are always popular.

For families outside Waterford

Patients come to University Hospital Waterford from across the south-east, and relatives often live far away or abroad. If you cannot visit, flowers are a warm way to be present. Add a phone call or a message to the family, and ask when the patient is expected to go home. If you know the family, ask whether they would prefer the bouquet to be delivered after discharge.

Waterford city is a short drive from the hospital, but visiting hours can be limited and parking is busy, which is another reason a delivered gift is appreciated.

When the patient is home

Recovery can take much longer than the hospital stay. A bunch of flowers delivered a few days after discharge, with an offer to do the shopping or drive to a check-up, often means more than a bedside bunch. Choose a delivery date that suits the patient and add your name to the card.

Other ways to show you care

A short, handwritten line inside the card, signed with your name, makes any gift more personal and gives the patient something to keep once the flowers have faded.

Cards, phone calls, magazines, a puzzle book, or a meal left for the family are all kind gestures if the ward does not accept flowers. Where a stay ends in a bereavement, check the death notice on rip.ie: if it says "family flowers only", send a Mass card or a donation to the named charity instead.

Did you know? University Hospital Waterford began as the Ardkeen Chest Hospital in 1952 and took its present name in May 2014.