Children's acute wards
Oxford Children's Hospital admits children from the Children's Emergency Department and Clinical Decision Unit who are unwell and need to stay in hospital to be monitored for a few days.
During this time the nurses on the ward will regularly review your child, and the doctors will see them during their ward rounds.
Your child may need further investigations or tests while on the ward, and may be prescribed medication to take home.
Children who are acutely unwell usually come to Bellhouse-Drayson Ward, although occasionally we care for them in Tom's Ward or Robin's Ward.
Bellhouse-Drayson is a busy ward which has both open bays and cubicles. If your child needs to be isolated they will have a cubicle to themselves.
The ward has roughly 20 beds, depending on circumstances, and is staffed by:
- nurses
- play specialists
- paediatric consultants and trainees
- GP trainees
- dietitians
- therapists
- phlebotomists (people trained to take blood samples).
Volunteers often come in and entertain the patients.
We have a ward for older children, Melanie's Ward, a dedicated adolescent unit which is specifically tailored to the needs of patients over the age of 12. It looks after children with both acute medical and surgical conditions and has support from dietitians, therapists and psychology services.
Horton Children's Ward
At the Horton General Hospital we see children and admit them to our Children's Ward.
We admit children directly after a referral by a GP or from our Emergency Department, and have a small number of children with complex healthcare needs who have 'open access'.
The Children's Ward is a busy ward which has both open bays and cubicles. If your child needs to be isolated, they will have a cubicle to themselves.
The nurses on the ward will regularly review your child during their stay. Consultant ward rounds start in the morning, and a senior nurse and paediatric consultant are on site 24 hours a day.
Your child may need further investigations or tests while on the ward, and may be prescribed medication to take home.
The ward has 17 beds, depending on circumstances, and is staffed by:
- nurses
- play specialists
- paediatric consultants and specialty doctors
- GP trainees and foundation doctors
- therapists.
The ward has a play area, milk kitchen, wash facilities and a parents' room with fridge, kettle and cooking facilities. We encourage a family member to stay with the child during their admission.
Patient leaflets
Link
Children's Inpatient Management of Pain Service (ChIMPS)