If you are admitted for a planned procedure, you will be given details of which department to check in to and when. Take with you your identification card and patient card (see below). You will be charged a nominal overnight fee, which is currently a maximum of 80kr.

It is common practice to share rooms with at least one other person but these rooms normally have an en-suite shower-room and toilet. For food, there is a choice of menus (and size of meals) available but this may not always be made clear to you (in which case they default to the standard). Ask a nurse where you can check out the options and sign up. While food quality probably varies between hospitals, our experience has not been positive so you might also want to take a back-up supply. There should also be a kitchen and eating area where you can prepare your own food or make tea, coffee and snacks as provided by the hospital. If you’re well enough to get out of bed, you may also be expected to go and collect your own meals from here – check when you arrive. You may even be expected to change your own bed linen – all in the name of keeping costs down.

As far as medical care is concerned, don’t expect much in terms of emotional support from the medical staff, it is better to be pleasantly surprised. Doctors generally visit on a daily basis but this may be a very brief encounter – although they will ensure they keep you monitored even if that doesn’t involve a personal visit. Nurses rotate shifts and so you will not necessarily see the same nurse at the same time each day – in fact, it is possible to be in for several days without seeing the same face twice. This means you will find it tough to build up a relationship with your ‘carers’. If you want to know more about your treatment, make sure you ask and be persistent.