Visiting Hours

Visiting hours at the General Hospital are:

11:00am to 5:00pm.

6:30pm to 8:00pm

However, clinical patient care will always take priority over visiting. Visitors may be asked to leave during these times when necessary.

General Enquiries: (+290) 22500

Emergency Department

The Emergency Department at the General Hospital is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for urgent and emergency care. Examples include chest pain, severe difficulty breathing, and collapse, loss of consciousness, signs of a stroke, severe bleeding, serious injury, severe burns, seizure or a severe allergic reaction. The Emergency Department is not a walk-in clinic for routine health concerns. Routine and less urgent problems should be managed through the appropriate clinic, pharmacy service, or by booking an appointment.

When you arrive

All patients attending the Emergency Department will be triaged on arrival by a paramedic or nurse. This helps staff assess the urgency of your illness or injury and place you into a clinical priority category.

Patients are seen in order of clinical priority, not in order of arrival. This means someone who arrives after you may be seen first if their condition is more serious.

Waiting times

Emergencies will be dealt with immediately.

If your condition is stable or less urgent, you may need to wait. The hospital doctor is also responsible for inpatients on the wards, so urgent ward care may need to be prioritised over less urgent cases in the Emergency Department.

Patients with minor illnesses or injuries may be given advice, self-care guidance, pharmacy advice, or asked to return during normal clinic hours for further care.

Attending the Emergency Department does not always mean you will see a doctor. This will depend on your clinical need and triage category.

Routine and less urgent care

Jamestown Outpatients provides services during the week for urgent and routine problems that do not need the Emergency Department.

  • Nurse Triage, walk-ins only

Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 1pm. Please arrive before 12:30. Patients are seen by clinical need or order of arrival.

  • Nurse-led clinic and triage, appointments only

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 14:00 to 16:00. This includes dressings, minor procedures, blood pressure checks and triage where required.

To book an appointment, please telephone Medical Records on 22321.

Ambulance emergencies

If you need an ambulance in an emergency, call 999.

Please do not call the hospital switchboard for an emergency ambulance, as this can delay care.

When you call 999, the first question you will usually be asked is whether the patient is conscious and breathing. Stay calm, stay on the phone and answer the call handler’s questions as clearly as you can.

You will be asked to provide information such as:

  • the patient’s exact location
  • what has happened
  • the patient’s age, if known
  • The reason for the call such as chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, serious bleeding, collapse, injury or another urgent symptom

Emergency call handlers are trained to give pre-arrival first aid advice. It is important that you do not hang up unless the call handler tells you to. Call handlers can also contact paramedics directly, who may provide remote clinical advice while the ambulance is on the way.

A helpful way for the emergency services to find you is by using what3words. The app is free to download and can identify your exact location using a three-word address. It can also work offline once downloaded, as long as your phone can access GPS. (https://what3words.com/)

Inpatient Services

The General Hospital has:

  • A male inpatient ward
  • A female inpatient ward
  • Three side rooms
  • A maternity ward

The hospital provides care for medical and surgical inpatients.

Facilities are available to provide specialist care for two intensive care patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The hospital also has a chemotherapy unit and provides care for babies, children and adults.

Surgical Services

A range of surgical services are provided at the General Hospital, including:

Local anaesthetic procedures

General surgery

Gynaecological and obstetric surgery

Endoscopic procedures

Maternity Services

The hospital provides a fully functioning midwifery service, supporting mothers from booking through to delivery and postnatal care.

Maternity and midwifery services can be accessed by contacting the midwives through the hospital switchboard Tel. 22500

Radiology

A range of radiology investigations are available at the General Hospital, including:

  • X-rays
  • CT scans
  • Ultrasound scans

All investigations are carried out by appointment, unless they are required as an emergency.

Appointments are arranged through Medical Records once a doctor has submitted a referral.