Caring for children
An holistic approach to caring for the whole child is central to the entire ethos of the dedicated paediatric unit at Benenden, which provides a model service for children aged six months to 16 years who are not undergoing emergency care.
It treats Benenden Healthcare Society members as well as NHS and private patients, covering a range of specialties including ear, nose and throat surgery, endoscopy, dermatology, ophthalmology, respiratory medicine and general surgery.
Accreditations
The unit’s work has been commended by the Royal College of Surgeons and it’s one of only a few in the country accredited by Bupa for the care of children under three years.
A walking tour reveals a unique healthcare environment in which bland hospital colours are banished in favour of yellow, red and green doors with multi-coloured beds. A five-year old in for an ENT op watches a video entitled “Judy Bear goes to theatre”, while cuddling the ‘real’ Judy Bear in the playroom.
Facilities
Twelve individual rooms provide accommodation for parents to stay with their children. The youngsters are actively encouraged to bring along personal possessions that will help make them feel more at home.
The sight of 40 Beanie Babies lined up on the end of a bed is nothing unusual in this hospital department where small girls and boys go off to theatre dressed as ballerinas, cowboys and dinosaurs, and ‘magic cream’ is liberally applied to soothe little worries.
Paediatric modern matron Eleanor Jeans, who has led the unit for more than 12 years, says the secret of its success is teamwork and time.
Eleanor said: “We are a relatively small team of sisters, staff nurses, play specialists, healthcare assistants, housekeepers, paediatric anaesthetists and paediatric consultants who are all totally committed to and fiercely protective of what we do.
“We know that time is the best thing we can give our patients and, because we are not involved in emergency surgery, we give children as much time as they need to feel comfortable. We will re-book a child to come back at a later date rather than force them. It recently took one little boy four visits before he finally felt ready to go to theatre.”
Preparation begins long before the patient is admitted to hospital, with a phone call or home visit from a member of the team who assesses any special needs − behavioural, dietary or otherwise.
This kind of pre-admission planning enables staff to design care around the individual, taking into consideration other patients in the unit.
Paediatric after care
After care is another key feature. All in-patient procedures are followed up with a home phone call to check all is well and give any necessary further advice for patients and their carers.
For the last six months the unit has also been working on a new website where schoolchildren can find out answers to all their questions about going into the hospital. “We are always looking for new ways of caring for our young patients,” added Eleanor.
A personal service from the Benenden Hospital paediatric team
Like the rest of the Benenden paediatric team, paediatric consultant anaesthetist Naj Bhaskaran firmly believes that attending to the psychological as well as clinical needs of children occasionally means being prepared to take an unusual approach.
It has been known, for example, for him to take the entire anaesthesia team down to the ward and anaesthetise a child under a table rather than force them to lay on the theatre trolley.
“I would anaesthetise in the car park if I had to,” said Naj, who anaesthetises 1,000 children a year at Benenden.
“Some children have had bad experiences elsewhere and it’s really important that we don’t try to fit them into set patterns, but instead meticulously assess them and work to their unique and special needs.
“A senior consultant and said ours was the best paediatric unit he’d seen. When a professional with 30 years’ healthcare experience tells you that, you know you are doing something right.”
For further peace of mind
Don’t forget that with Benenden Healthcare membership you can request treatment at the Benenden Hospital paediatric ward. It costs £1.50 per person, per week for Benenden Healthcare Society membership. You can join Benenden Healthcare online.
This article first appeared in issue 5 of benhealth, the magazine for Benenden Healthcare members.
