Meadow Ward - E519
About
us
Meadow Ward is a short-stay
surgery ward predominantly caring for children and young people. We
have a bright colourful ward with 18 beds located on the 5th floor
of the children's hospital. Most of our patients are with us just
for the day and we cover specialties such as ear, nose and throat
(ENT), orthopaedics, urology and gastroenterology. For children who
may struggle with staying still for scans, such as MRIs or CTs, we
perform these under a general anaesthetic and look after your child
before and after their general anaesthetic.
We also have the 'Admissions
Lounge', which is run by the Meadow Ward nurses and health care
support workers. This is where patients come pre-operatively before
going to an inpatient ward for an overnight/prolonged hospital
admission post-surgery. You will be seen here by the
nurse/healthcare support worker, surgeons and anaesthetists. You
and your child will walk to theatre from here or be transferred to
your inpatient bed before the procedure.
We manage the telephone
pre-operative assessment service (which includes patients needing
an overnight stay on Penguin Ward, Lighthouse Ward, Caterpillar
Ward, Apollo 35 Ward and Daisy Ward). A nurse will call you to find
out about any underlying health conditions, medicine or food
allergies, or any relevant information about your child that will
make their admission and stay in the hospital more comfortable.
This allows us to cater for each child's individual and different
needs whilst they are with us.
If your child has additional
or complex needs and you feel it would be useful for us to know a
little more information about your child, please take the time to fill
out a hospital passport for them.
Ward philosophy
We are dedicated to providing the highest standards of care for
your child and family. We believe that family-centred care is
really important and work together as a team using a
multi-disciplinary approach to be able to provide this service. We
also recognise that each patient and family is different and
therefore we need to individualise our care to the needs of each
patient and their families. This is where our pre-operative
assessments are vital in giving us the tools to be able to do this
and make sure your child has a smooth journey from admission to
discharge.
Parent and patient
facilities
Due to the short-stay nature of the ward, we do not have a
parent kitchen. There is a coffee shop on level 2 in the main
reception where you can purchase hot drinks and snacks. Any hot
drinks on the ward must be in your own screw-top mug. We have a
small kitchen where staff can prepare food for your child, such as
cereals, toast, soup and sandwiches. Please feel free to bring in
your own food, we just ask that it does not contain any nuts.
Play facilities
We have a play specialist who
can offer activities and toys for your child during their
admission, such as board games and arts and crafts. This can be at
the bedside or in our playroom. A really important aspect of the
play specialist is to distract and prepare children for their
anaesthetic and treatments. They will come and see your child but
if there is anything specific that you need from them, please speak
to your nurse.
We would highly recommend
your child watch the video, A Little Deep Sleep, before coming to
Meadow Ward to prepare them for their admission. Even from a very
young age, this short film can really help to reduce any fears and
to help children and young people familiarise themselves with the
processes of the hospital environment.
