Nurses Day! - Birmingham Children's Hospital

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Another project we’ve worked on to improve
our patient experience has been to redesign the
traditional backless and fiddly NHS hospital gown.
The dignity of our patients is so important to us
and we want our children and young people to
feel comfortable and secure while they’re with
us. Throughout the year we’ve been working with
young people and fashion industry experts to
produce our innovative new Dignity Giving Suits
which protects our patients’ modesty while allowing
quick, easy and dignified access for their procedure
and follow-up care.
A short sleeved top and cut-off trousers is joined
with Velcro at several key points so it can be used
in every possible theatre and post-operative care
scenario. This could be for complex heart surgery,
the insertion of a neck line or hernia repair, or
accessing a plaster cast on a broken arm.
Based entirely on the needs of our
young patients and their clinical
requirements, the innovative
design is the first of its type in
the NHS, truly fit-for-purpose
and something we know that
children and young people
want. Since its launch in
February 2013 we’ve
had lots of interest from
hospitals around the UK
about how they can use
the suits too.
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Artist’s Birmingham impression Children’s of the respiratory Hospital—Sleep centre’s Room— sleep testing Respiratory room Services
Job no. 4271
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In January we started work on a six-month project
to improve the patient and family experience for
children and young people with lung problems,
such as cystic fibrosis, sleep disordered breathing,
asthma and those who may be oxygen and
ventilator dependant.
Thanks to a £500k donation to the hospital’s charity
from a local newspaper, The Sunday Mercury,
we have been able to start work on our new
Respiratory Centre, which brings all our respiratory
services together in one location, rather than being
spread across the hospital site.
The modern unit will have a second lung function
testing area, a counselling room and three purpose
built sleep testing bedrooms.
Sleep disruption or deprivation can be caused by
a vast number of different conditions and can have
a real impact on a child or young person’s school
life and behaviour. The sleep testing rooms will
be decorated just like a child’s bedroom at home
so they feel relaxed and comfortable which will
improve the way our doctors can monitor their
breathing and how it affects their sleep.
We’ve also made changes and improvements over
at our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
(CAMHS) Parkview site too.
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Last year we opened our Irwin Ward – a dedicated
inpatient eating disorder unit which is helping our
patients get quicker and better access to treatment.
The 12 bedded unit is one of only four specialist
centres of its type in the NHS which treats 12 to 18
year olds. Since it opened we are pleased to report
a 100% success rate in helping 20 young people
with eating disorders get back to a healthy weight.
This success is testament to the team’s
commitment to not only working with the young
people themselves but their families too. We expect
parents to play a key part in the recovery process
as they know them best and can help hugely while
they are with us, as well as when they’re back at
home, so they can regain control over their lives.
Also at Parkview we ran a successful 12-month
pilot to trial a Place of Safety - a specialised suite
for young people who are detained by police under
the Mental Health Act. The Place of Safety provides
a comfortable and safe alternative to a police cell,
which we know has a detrimental and negative
impact on them and their families in a time of crisis.
The pilot has gone well, with several young people
accessing the Place of Safety over the last 12
months. Future development plans for the Parkview
site include a specially designed suite attached to
one of the inpatient units so that we can ensure
our young patients in need receive an excellent
standard of care in the best environment possible.