Paediatric Services in Northern Trust Hospitals
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Our plans for children’s services in Northern Trust hospitals What do you think? Future model for acute paediatric services in Northern Trust hospitals. Consultation 28 November 2017 to 26 February 2018 Contents Page Services for sick children 3 Why change? 6 Our plans 11 How the plan will work 13 Listening to people 14 Being fair to everyone 15 Rural needs 17 What do you think? 18 About you 21 For more information 27 !2 Services for sick children We provide acute paediatric services for children and who need to stay in hospital at: • Antrim Area Hospital • Causeway Hospital in Coleraine We also provide services for children who don’t need to stay overnight at Ulster Hospital in Magherafelt. In this document children will mean babies, children and young people up to age 16. Paediatric means medical help for children. Acute Paediatric services are for children who need hospital treatment. A Paediatrician is a children’s doctor. !3 We also have: A rapid response unit at Antrim • Area Hospital. But it is only open some hours during week-day daytimes A Rapid Response Unit: • Can see a child very quickly Has a range of skilled • professionals Can quickly look at a child and • decide what treatment is best Has a senior children’s doctor • who can give advice Causeway Hospital has a similar • service !4 Services for children that are led • by a senior doctor which are: ‣ For people who come to appointments at the hospital but don’t stay overnight ‣ People who are being treated at home A Short Stay Assessment Unit at • Mid Ulster Hospital This unit sees about 1,200 children a year. It is open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. It closes at 5pm each day, so it can’t look at new children after mid-afternoon. Children who need to stay overnight will go by ambulance to Antrim Area Hospital. !5 Why change? Changes in the way we treat childhood illnesses These days most children don’t need to stay in hospital for a long time. Most children who come into hospital stay for less than 36 hours. Changes in Northern Ireland The Department of Health in Northern Ireland wants: More health services for children • outside of Hospital in the community Most children to be cared for in • their community with support from specialist doctors in hospitals !6 Clinical Standards The Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health has written standards which say what grade of doctor should see children in hospital. 1. Every child going into hospital must be seen by a children’s doctor with at least 3 years experience within 4 hours 2. Every child going into hospital must be seen by a senior children’s doctor within 14 hours 3. Trusts should have rapid response units Currently we do not have enough permanent doctors to meet these standards. !7 Medical staff Northern Health and Social Care Trust needs to have enough senior and experienced children’s doctors: In each hospital where we have • paediatric services • For all the hours they are open Some hospitals also have Training Doctors. Training Doctors are qualified doctors who are working to get the experience to become a qualified children’s doctor. It is difficult to get enough doctors for all the jobs available. Children’s doctors prefer to work in large specialist hospitals. !8 Medical staff at Antrim Area Hospital Antrim Area Hospital sees over 3500 children a year. It has a large team of senior children’s doctors. Most of the jobs are full. We are only short of a few doctors. Medical staff at Causway Hospital Causeway hospital sees nearly 2000 children a year. Causeway Hospital has found it difficult to get permanent senior children’s doctors. !9 We deal with the shortage of staff by: Temporary staff - this is very • expensive A senior children’s doctor from • Antrim Hospital staying overnight at Causeway. They do this as well as working all day at Antrim Hospital Mid Ulster Hospital Short Stay Assessment Unit This unit has one paediatrician with a team of nurses. !10 Our plans Antrim Area Hospital Antrim Area Hospital has enough permanent staff. But we need to have the rapid response unit open: • Until 10pm on weekdays • At weekends Mid Ulster Hospital We plan to replace the services we have currently by new rapid access clinics run by a senior paediatrician. Most of the children that local doctors (GP’s) send to the Mid-Ulster Hospital will be seen in these new clinics. It would mean that some children would have to go to Antrim Area Hospital. This would only affect a small number of children each year. !11 Causeway Hospital We plan to keep Paediatric services at Causeway Hospital as they are for a while. But we plan to gradually change them so that: The Rapid Response Unit stays • open until 10pm on weekdays and is open at weekends Children that need to stay • overnight in hospital would be sent by ambulance to Antrim Area Hospital We are able to nurse more • children at home !12 How the plan will work We plan to make the changes gradually. 1. First we would start the rapid access clinics at Mid Ulster Hospital 2. At the same time extend the opening hours of the short stay unit at Antrim Area Hospital. 3. There will be no changes at Causeway Hospital at the moment. We will ask for people’s views again before any changes are made. !13 Listening to people We have been listening to people’s views about these plans. We have talked with service users and carers at 3 events at Antrim, Causeway and Mid Ulster Hospitals. We have talked with doctors and other health professionals from outside the trust. We have talk to our own staff. They will be kept up to date and will have opportunities to talk about their views with their teams and managers. The trust is working with the trade unions to look at how staff are affected. !14 Being fair to everyone Under the law we must be fair to people of different: • Religious beliefs. Religious beliefs are where people are part of different faiths like Christianity, Islam, Judaism and many others. • Political opinions Political opinions are where people feel strongly about the different parties in the government or local council. • Race • Age !15 • Sexual orientation Sexual Orientation is when people are attracted to someone of the same sex or the opposite sex • We must give an equal chance to: Men and women and people who • are transgender Transgender is where someone has changed their gender People who are married, single, • divorced or living together People with and without • a disability People with and without • children or other people who depend on them !16 Rural needs Under the law we have to think about how our plans affect people who live in rural areas. Rural means in the countryside. Rural life can be very different to life in towns: People don’t always have the • same access to services People don’t always have a good • internet connection or mobile phone signal • There are fewer large businesses !17 What do you think? We want to know what you think about these plans. Please answer the questions and send your replies to us by Monday 26th February 2018. Please write send us your answers by: Email to: • [email protected] Post: • Equality Unit Route Complex 8e Coleraine Road Ballymoney Co. Antrim BT53 6BP • Tel: 028 2766 1377 • Fax: 028 2766 1209 • Mobile Text: 07825 667 154 !18 About you Your name Your role The name of your organisation Your address Are you answering for your self, or for an organisation? For myself For an organisation !19 Question 1: Have we explained all the problems in Paediatric services in our area? if not what other problems are there? Question 2: Do you think that we are right to start with a rapid access clinic at Mid Ulster Hospital? !20 Question 3: Do you think that the plans will: • Last into the future? • Improve quality? • Reduce costs? If not what other things should we think about? !21 Question 4: Do you think that the plans are fair to everyone? If not please explain why Question 5: Do you think that these plans are fair to people who live in country areas? If not please explain why !22 Question 6: Have you any other comments? !23 For more information If you need any more information please contact us at: Email: [email protected] Telephone: 028 9442 4655 Facebook: Northern Health and Social Care Trust Twitter: @NHSCTrust !24.