Overview
The department has:
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16-bedded paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) (comprising four-bed bays and four single cubicles). Children requiring high-dependency care (PHDU) are nursed in two locations in one of eight beds.
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Rose ward - a 30-bedded ward area, with an additional four high-dependency beds and four beds in the sleep and ventilation unit.
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Two dedicated paediatric outpatient departments at Royal Brompton Hospital (Fulham wing) and Harefield Hospital.
These areas accommodate patients requiring investigations and treatments of a wide variety of cardiothoracic and respiratory conditions.
Staffing
Paediatric nursing is led by the senior nurse, who is supported by an operational matron for paediatric inpatients. Three paediatric ward sisters lead care on Rose ward, eight sisters lead care in intensive care (PICU) and one charge nurse leads in high-dependency care (PHDU). This senior team is well supported by advanced nurse practitioners and clinical educators, providing the nursing team with continuous clinical support and advice.
Beyond the wards, we have a highly skilled senior team of clinical nurse specialists in cardiac and respiratory care supporting children and their families both in hospital and their community.
The safeguarding team is available to deliver training and expert advice for all levels of staff.
The department provides an environment that encourages education and research and professional and personal growth. Assistance with funding and study leave is given to enable staff to develop and consolidate their professional skills. Cardiac, respiratory, high dependency and intensive care nursing modules are all available from local universities. Conversion to registered children's nurses, supervised practice and return to nursing courses are easily accessible and supported within the directorate.
Our service to patients
Being a tertiary referral centre our dedicated team of highly skilled professionals provide a holistic service to the children and their families.
Utilising the very latest technology and therapies the paediatrics team is innovative, providing highly technical and ‘state of art’ treatment but in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. To ensure this the directorate operates within a framework of family centred care, where parents are actively encouraged to be resident within the hospital so they can be involved in their child’s care.
Limited family accommodation is provided either within the ward area or in nearby dedicated self-contained accommodation.
Our hospitals
Harefield Hospital has a paediatric outpatient department which, along with the outpatient department at Royal Brompton Hospital, provides optimisation of medical management for children with congenital and acquired cardiac disease before and after surgical management of congenital cardiac defects.
Staff in both parts of the unit have extensive knowledge and experience in fetal cardiology and provide support and advice for families when an antenatal diagnosis of a congenital cardiac defect has been made.
Transitional care is given to children prior to their sixteenth birthday when their care is transferred to an adult cardiologist or respirologist.
Career development
Leave and financial support is also available for national and international conferences as well as study days in order to enable nurses to maintain their registration in accordance with the NMC's continuing professional development guidelines. The Trust acknowledges that individual skills are required to nurse within these specialised areas and recognises this.