Hospital admissions

Treatments and appointments at Health and Social Care (HSC) hospitals are free for all UK residents. Find out more about the hospital admissions system in Northern Ireland and what you can expect from a stay in hospital.

Going to hospital

If you and your doctor (or other healthcare professional) decide that you need to see a specialist for further treatment you will be referred to a hospital that provides the specific service.

Being admitted to hospital

If you need to be admitted to a hospital, your doctor, dentist or other healthcare professional will arrange this for you.

You may be admitted to a hospital that is a centre for specialised care if you require complex treatment.

Depending on the nature of tests or treatment that you require, you can be admitted to a hospital as either:

an outpatient - you are referred to see a hospital consultant for a specialist opinion, without the need for a hospital bed
a day patient/day case - you need a hospital bed for tests or surgery, but do not need to stay overnight
an inpatient - you need a hospital bed because you have to stay in hospital for tests or surgery

Arranging an appointment

You may be given a date and time for your appointment or you may be asked to phone the hospital yourself to arrange an appointment on a convenient day.

You will be told what will happen during and after your appointment and a telephone number will be provided for you to ring if you have any questions.

Your hospital will then write to you with details of your appointment.

Staying overnight at hospital

If you are admitted as an inpatient at a hospital, it's recommended that you bring the following:

personal toiletries
nightdress or pyjamas
dressing gown
a pair of slippers
any equipment that you use, such as a walking or hearing aid
any medication that you are taking, or information detailing current treatment

What to expect in hospital

While every patient's case is different, there are some things that you can expect during your time in hospital:

your nurse or doctor will clarify what is wrong with you and explain the treatment that needs to be carried out
you can discuss the treatment and if you decide to go ahead with it, you will be required to give written consent
you'll be involved in all decisions about your treatment throughout your stay in hospital
staff will, at your request, make sure a friend or relative is kept informed of your progress
your privacy will be respected
doctors and nurses treating you will be sensitive to your religious, spiritual and cultural needs
your healthcare is the priority, and the treatment you receive will not be affected by gender, sexuality, age or disability
efforts will be made to offer you a bed on a single sex bay where possible and any dietary requirements will be assessed

Hospitals and people with disabilities

Making a complaint

If you are not satisfied with the level of care you receive in hospital, you should contact the hospital you are unhappy with to try to resolve the matter.

If you are still not satisfied you should contact your local HSC Trust.

Make a complaint against the health service

If you are still unhappy, you can contact the Northern Ireland Ombudsman.

How to Complain (Northern Ireland Ombudsman website)

Help improve this page - send your feedback

What do you want to do?

report a problem

leave feedback

ask a question

Report a problem

Which problem did you find on this page? (Tick all that apply)

A link, button or video is not working

There is a spelling mistake

Information is missing, outdated or wrong

I can't find what I'm looking for

Another issue

You will not receive a reply. We will consider your feedback to help improve the site.

Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

Tell us more about the problem you're having with the nidirect website.

Enter your feedback

What is your question about?

Choose a topic for your question:

What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit. Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about your GRONI account, email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme, email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about 60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly. We don't have access to information about you.

Extra comments (optional)

Translation help

Select a language