Frequently Asked Questions
How do I access your services?
Apart from Emergency Care, all of our services are accessed
by referral via a health professional, often your GP or General
Paediatrician. If you are from outside of the Bristol
area, your child may be referred by their current consultant or
lead health professional.
How do you work with parents and carers?
Parents and carers are a key part of the multi-disciplinary care
team and so staff willbe keen to work with you while your child an
inpatient. This will be agreed via the disability assessment
which will be completed within 48 hours of your admission.
This includes agreeing resposibility for basic care which you may
chose to continue to provide, in which case respite breaks will be
agreed. You can ask for any agreements to be reviewed if your
circumstances or the needs of your child change during admission by
speaking to your named nurse.
How can I plan for an admission?
Completeing the Hospital Passport will give us an easily
accessible picture of your child's needs to help us plan for an
admission. Once you have a date, you are welcome to
contact either Martyn or Shirley or the LIAISE team to discuss any
particular needs. They will liaise with the ward to ensure
that any special provision which your child may need, such as
Safesides or hoisting equipment will be available when you
arrive. Alternatively, you are welcome to discuss these needs
with the ward direct on the contact numbers shown in the link
above.
How do I contact my child's doctors during an admission?
The nursing staff will be able to contact your doctor if you
need to clarify an aspect of care but there are usually regular
ward rounds where your doctor or a member of their team will
visit. If you are concerned about your child, we have an
escalation policy to ensure that your concerns are noted, addressed
and documented. Posters are displayed in most ward areas and
your named nurse will be able to explain this further.
What facilities are available for parents and carers to
stay?
There is a drop-down bed for one parent at the side of most of
our patient beds, and we also have some family accommodation for
other family members to stay. This is allocated once you
arrive at the hospital and families who are expected to stay
more than 5 days and who are at some distance from home will be
given priority. Please ask your nurse to make a referral for you
when you arrive on the ward as there is often a waiting list.
Details of local accommodation can be obtained from Main Reception
or the LIAISE team.
My child recieves a range of support in the community.
Will this continue while they are in hospital?
We are generally happy to welcome other health professionals who
are providing ongoing packages of care onto the ward to continue
supporting your child. With your permission, we will share
information with them to help them adapt any care provision to your
child's current needs. However, not all service providers are
able to agree to this. Please speak to your service provider
as soon as you are aware of an admission and ask them to
contact Martyn or Shirley on 0117 342 8653 if they have
any questions.
Will my child's educational support continue?
If your child is of school age and expected to be an inpatient
for more than 5 days, our hospital school team will be able to
offer their support. They will liaise with your child's
school to support planned programmes of study, adapting their
approach to your child's condition on a daily basis. Support
from our special educational needs teacher is available if
required, as is input from the play team and our music therapy
service to ensure your child received the stimulation that they
need to encourage development and expression. The school team
generally identify patients who need their support but you are
welcome to ask your nurse to contact them.
My child is under a number of specialists. Will they all
visit during an admission?
Generally, it is the team who have arranged the admission that
will be your main contact during your stay. However, if you
feel you need input from other teams who also provide care to your
child, please discuss this either with your nurse or with the
doctors during ward round. You are welcome to let other teams
know that your child is being admitted or ask us to do this for
you, but we cannot guarentee it will be possible for them to see
you if you do not need their specific care at that time.
My child struggles to understand what is going on in
hospital. Who can help?
The hospital play specialists are very skilled at helping
families find the best way of making this child feel safe and
comfortable. Advice and guidance is also available from
Claire or Shirley or from our psychology team. Easy read
guides are available together with picture resources, and
opportunities to visit the hospital prior to admission to help your
child feel more at home. Each child is different and we are
developing a range of resources to meet these needs so please
contact theb disability team to discuss the support you need and we
will do our best to help you find the right resources for you.
I need to bring my child to the Emergency Department but there
is no way he will cope with the waiting. What can we do?
If you already have a hospital passport, the Emergency team
will print it off and will know that you need extra help. If
not, ask your doctor to include the information in their referral
letter or if you are coming straight to us, let the receptionist
know. Where possible the team will try to find you a quiet
space and arrange for you to be seen as soon as they can. However,
we do have to prioritise patients according to how unwell they are,
so you may have to wait if the department is busy. If you are
struggling, please let us know and we'll try to help.
My child is autistic and finds going to outpatients really
difficult. How can we make it easier?
Speak to your consultant about whether it is possible to arrange
an appointment when the clinic is less crowded. If your child
struggles to concentrate, it may be possible for them to spend some
time with the play team while you have chance to talk to the
doctor. If there are things that will help your child feel
more secure and settled, such as special toys or ways of
communicating, let us know via the hospital passport.
