Overview of Children’s Ward
The Children’s Ward, which is also known as a Paediatric Short Stay Assessment Unit, is open 24/7 and predominantly accepts patients with a referral from a General Practitioner (GP), Health Visitor or an out of hours healthcare service. Patients who are accepted usually require an immediate or acute assessment and possible admission. We also regularly accept patients who have been referred through from the Emergency Department.
We assess patients from birth to their 16th birthday with any medical condition. We also work closely with the General Surgical Team at Dr Gray’s Hospital who will assess patients who present with a surgical condition. They will often then liaise with Paediatric Surgeons based at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital. The Children’s Ward can also provide a safe space for patients who present with a mental health condition or social concern.
On occasion we accept patients over the age of 15 years old. This is usually when a patient is under the care of a Paediatric Specialist based at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and have not yet transitioned to adult services.
What to Expect When You Attend
You will initially be seen by a Staff Nurse who will assess your child. This will usually include observations such as temperature and heart rate, as well as taking a brief history of your child and their medical or surgical complaint. Our Staff Nurses will often initially give medications before you are seen by one of our Doctors who will make a plan for your care.
Dr Gray’s Hospital is a teaching hospital so you will often find Student Nurses and Doctors around our department delivering care. They will never be left to carry out a task (such as observations) with a patient that they are not capable of doing unsupervised.
Patients in the Children’s Ward are either discharged home with advice / medication or are admitted. The majority of our patients stay for a maximum of 48 hours before either being discharged home or transferred to the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital. This time period will depend on likely length of admission and workloads in each department.
Onward Care
Some patients with chronic conditions that may deteriorate quickly are given long term open access to the Children’s Ward. This means they can phone us directly for admission or advice about their specific medical condition.
Other patients on discharge from the Children’s Ward may be given 24 – 48 hours of short term open access. This means they can contact us directly if they have any questions about new medications prescribed or if their child or young person deteriorates after discharge. We can then provide advice or ask them to re-attend without seeing the GP or using out of hours services such as NHS24.
We keep a clear record of who has short term and long term open access to the department so you will be directed back to your GP/ NHS24 if your open access period is over.
Paediatric Outpatient Department
General Paediatricians manage medical conditions which affect infants, children and young people. Within our service we also have more specialised teams who visit from the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and Raigmore Hospital. These specialised teams include Paediatricians who specialise in areas such as diabetes, gastrointestinal, neurology, renal, surgical and urology. Many of our specialist teams work closely within a network of similar specialists across Scotland.
Most patients who visit for the first time are likely to meet one of our friendly General Paediatricians first. Patients will generally be seen in one of our clinics in the Paediatric Outpatient Department.
How To Find Us
Address – Dr Gray’s Hospital, Pluscarden Road, Elgin, Moray, IV30 1SN
Satellite Navigation – IV30 1SN
The Children’s Ward and Paediatric Outpatient Department can be accessed via the main entrance into Dr Gray’s Hospital. Our friendly NHS Grampian Volunteer Way Finders will direct you towards the correct department.
Out of hours access to the Children’s Ward is via the Emergency Department. A member of the Emergency Department team will guide you to the entrance of the Children’s Ward.
Our Team
Our Staff Nurses are all Paediatric trained and work between the Children’s Ward and Emergency Department. The Staff Nurses work alongside our Health Care Support Workers.
Our Play Leader is trained in distraction techniques and can help keep patients calm and comfortable during procedures. The Play Leader will also provide activities to keep patients occupied and entertained during their stay.
You will also see other staff during your visit such as Domestic Assistants and Porters. The Domestic Assistants and Porters work hard to keep our department clean and well stocked.
Other Useful Resources
BEAT – The UK’s Eating Disorder Charity – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)
Breathing Space – Breathing Space is a free confidential service for people in Scotland. Open up when you’re feeling down. Please phone 0800 83 85 87
Childline – Childline | Childline
FEAST – FEAST: Support and resources for families affected by eating disorders (feast-ed.org)
NHS Inform – NHS inform – Scottish health information you can trust | NHS inform
NHS 24 – NHS 24 | NHS 24
Feedback
To provide our team with feedback about your care please do so by emailing the NHS Grampian feedback team via – gram.nhsgrampianfeedback@nhs.scot.
