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Children are welcome at Boulcott Hospital. Most children’s surgery requires a very short time in hospital and can often be managed without staying overnight.
When your child needs to stay in hospital we welcome a parent/adult support person remaining with the child. Parents can be accommodated on a fold up bed in the room with the child, or for a small fee, can share a double room and have meals provided. Please indicate on the admission form which of these options you would prefer. You may wish to check with your insurance company to ascertain whether you will be reimbursed for your bed fee.
Each child’s requirements are unique, if you are unable to remain with your child it is important that we know this in advance and can plan to have extra staff available to meet the needs of your child at the time. Please ring and discuss this with us prior to the admission day.
Your surgeon will have discussed the surgery with you and gained your written consent for the operation. We will require you to accompany your child to the operating theatre waiting area to check their identity, type of operation and consent are correct. The anaesthetic consent will be completed with the anaesthetist at this time.
Most surgery is planned in advance and it is better if you prepare the child by discussing this with them and giving them information appropriate to their age as frequently as possible. Your surgeon will be able to give you further advice on the type of information appropriate for your child. If you would like to bring your child in to visit the hospital prior to admission, this can be arranged. Plan with your child what they would like to bring into hospital with them – a favourite toy/game can be comforting in unfamiliar surroundings.
In most instances we plan the admission time to be as close to the operation time as possible to minimise the stress of waiting.
Once in hospital, please do not hesitate to discuss your child’s needs with the nurses in the ward, or the nurse in charge.