Does this mean I can take orange squash?

[OrangeSquashPlease]

DD is 6, and is going into hospital in a few weeks for an operation. She will be in for several days as it’s major surgery.

Last time she had surgery everything was provided so I am clueless as to what to take. The letter says that due to covid restrictions only water and the first post surgery meal will be provided. I have to provide everything else myself so that’s meals and any drinks that aren’t water (I am told there is a parent kitchen with a microwave and a kettle).

Can I take a bottle of orange squash? Does it need to be already diluted with water or will DD still have a jug of it by her bed I can make it up with? Or is it not allowed and they’re expecting her to have water only? When DD had surgery last time for the first 24 hours all she would drink was orange squash she ate nothing but drank lots and lots of orange squash (nobody seemed concerned), the nurses discharged her with her sports bottle full of orange squash. I am anticipating it’ll be the same this time and want to be prepared especially as last time was day case and this time we’ll be in for a few days.

I will not be allowed to leave the ward due to covid restrictions and no-one will be able to bring me anything so I want to be as prepared as possible.

Any other recommendations for things I can take? For both me and DD.

For added context DD usually only drinks water or milk, she only gets orange squash if she’s ill, when she goes to her dads or when she’s at her friends or a party before I get slated for not making her drink water – last time she was offered water a few times and refused it so the nurses told me to just pour her some squash when she wanted it and when we got home she still refused water until 24 hours after the anaesthetic.

I would take something like
Mini bottle of squash (those tiny ones)
Add boiling water pasta things
Individually wrapped choc brioche/malt loaf
Have a look in the ready meals aisle (the ambient stuff) as there's often sachet type micro meals
Hot choc/coffee for you!
Rice pudding/custard/fruit/jelly pots

Basically anything small and sachet like!

@thequeenoftarts i imagine because it would need electric testing

Anything electrical would need PAT before use.

This is the situation on maternity wards at the moment too- I am pregnant and the hospital I’m giving birth at has private rooms so birth partner can stay over with you. However, the woman giving birth gets fed, as a patient, but the birth partner does not. Fine under normal circumstances (eg when I had my DD we stayed in 2 nights and her dad could come and go, get a sandwich from costa, etc) but under Covid restrictions you can not leave your room. If your partner leaves the ward, they will not be readmitted. So couples are taking in plug in coolers, along with pot noodles, snacks, bottled water etc.

@captainprincess

Anything electrical would need PAT before use.

Do hospitals test all phone/kindle/iPad chargers that get plugged in?

This is the range I was thinking of, they're obviously not equal to home but they're edible! There's a few different ones
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/look-what-we-found!-chilli-con-carne/664504-94343-94344

Take bottled water and just add squash to each bottle to make a whole diluted bottle

Porridge pots, fruit, tuna lunchable things, baby tomatoes, crackers, long life puds like alpro, Babybel cheeses. They will all survive without a fridge

@thequeenoftarts because you can't have lots of clutter on the floor round the beds, it's not safe. And impedes cleaning. Electric beds also don't have the space to put things underneath. Also there isn't enough plug sockets if the child is on a lot of infusions.
Every single children's ward I've ever been on has a kitchen for parents with a fridge, kettle and a microwave.

[quote Toddlerteaplease]@thequeenoftarts because you can't have lots of clutter on the floor round the beds, it's not safe. And impedes cleaning. Electric beds also don't have the space to put things underneath. Also there isn't enough plug sockets if the child is on a lot of infusions.
Every single children's ward I've ever been on has a kitchen for parents with a fridge, kettle and a microwave. [/quote]
Toddlerteaplease and while I do understand truly I do, esp with space restrictions, they cant have it every way esp with Covid. There has to be some leeway esp for parents of young kids, who freak out if you leave them in a strange place.

Yes, there may be a kitchen, but if parents cant go out to bring food in or have it delivered or be fed from the kitchen, then its not much use, and no hospital I have every stayed in PAT tested my kindle, phone or charger to answer the other replies I got.

Now I do understand you may need to unplug these things for a while for equipment, but the joy of the cooler would mean if it stays closed then everything stays cool in the box.

Would it not be simpler to charge parents a set meal charge and supply a meals each day, still not great I know due to numbers and planning but I know back in the day I would gladly have paid it when my kids were in hospital.

I've just spend three days in hospital with DD, possibly slightly different as she was admitted via A&E, therefore we were put in the "high covid risk" zone until we got negative test results, however this was the setup -

One parent allowed to stay. That parent and patient only allowed to leave their room for the toilet, wearing a mask, and straight back in.

Parents kitchen and shower were out of bounds i.e. blocked off to all patients and parents.

Parents required to put on a mask when staff came into the room, staff were in full PPE which was binned before leaving the room. No charts, gloves etc were allowed to be stored in the room. No paper with notes on eg temperature recordings was allowed to leave the room. Scrupulous handwashing was backed up with additional handgel.

"At-home" parent was allowed to leave a bag of supplies at the ward door for us, but not allowed in.

The patient and parent staying were supplied with all meals, plus water and cups of tea by staff, due to the fact that all public access hospital canteens were shut down. I was told to ring the patient buzzer if we needed anything, and not to leave the room.

I would say check your local arrangements and don't assume anything. Don't rely on being able to wander out to the shops and being allowed back in, you may have a nasty shock.

Good luck with the op

Not sure what our medical wards are doing, but as our elective patients have shielded and had a negative test before admission. We are allowing parents to leave the ward. Where the parents themselves are shielding, we will absolutely feed them as well.

Definitely phone and clarify the meals situation. But in answer to the original question a bottle of orange squash will be absolutely fine. They will provide jugs of water to dilute it. The rules all sounds very restrictive when you read them but when you get there it’s much easier.

Not managed to get through to the ward yet, the hospital is 35 miles away and I don’t know the area around it so want to take everything I need to be prepared.

Surely they will provide food for the actual patient? I was in with DC2 in August and they fed her then.

As the parent I had to provide for myself and wasn’t allowed off the ward. They did let DH hand stuff over at the ward door. So he’d drop a bag of food and I’d send washing home.

@42andcounting

I've just spend three days in hospital with DD, possibly slightly different as she was admitted via A&E, therefore we were put in the "high covid risk" zone until we got negative test results, however this was the setup -

One parent allowed to stay. That parent and patient only allowed to leave their room for the toilet, wearing a mask, and straight back in.

Parents kitchen and shower were out of bounds i.e. blocked off to all patients and parents.

Parents required to put on a mask when staff came into the room, staff were in full PPE which was binned before leaving the room. No charts, gloves etc were allowed to be stored in the room. No paper with notes on eg temperature recordings was allowed to leave the room. Scrupulous handwashing was backed up with additional handgel.

"At-home" parent was allowed to leave a bag of supplies at the ward door for us, but not allowed in.

The patient and parent staying were supplied with all meals, plus water and cups of tea by staff, due to the fact that all public access hospital canteens were shut down. I was told to ring the patient buzzer if we needed anything, and not to leave the room.

I would say check your local arrangements and don't assume anything. Don't rely on being able to wander out to the shops and being allowed back in, you may have a nasty shock.

Good luck with the op

We went into a Covid hot zone first too, as we were admitted after a clinic. We had a room with a toilet / shower so that was ok.

The parent room was available, but they fed parents while we were in the hot zone so we didn’t have to leave our rooms. The nurses very kindly filled our water bottles and we did meet DH at the door (masked) on one occasion as we needed clothes!

The parent room, shower and toilets were all open on the ward.

We were in the LGI, if that helps anyone.

This is interesting as my child has an egg challenge appointment next month & ive been sent a recipe to make the cakes myself - we wondered if this was normal or if covid restrictions meant the hospital wasn't providing the cakes

What's an egg challenge appointment?

Managed to speak to the consultants secretary. Apparently no parent meals will be provided so I do have to provide my own, no access to the parent kitchen as apart from toilet trips you're not allowed to leave your childs bay/room so all meals for me to be able to be eaten as they are. Nothing able to be dropped off which I wouldn't have been able to do anyway as I live so far from the hospital.

Only water and basic meals being provided for the children, no tea or coffee for the parents water only for them. I can take a bottle of squash for DD if I want to but anything i bring must fit in the lockers by the bed as nothing can be stored anywhere else.

If I leave the ward I will not be allowed back until DD is being discharged. But I'll have free parking while I'm there so thats a positive.

Dreading this now. They've said usually she'd be in for a week but they aim to discharge as soon as medically able to so they're hoping it'll be 3 days max.

Any tips on foods I can get that can be eaten straight out the packet? Or with no preparation that isn't going to take up to much room in a bag as I also need room for multiple sets of pyjamas for DD (she's likely to bleed a lot in the first 24 hours due to another medical condition she has), plus pants, bras and socks for me (I'll have to manage on 1 or 2 sets of clothes and 1 pair of pyjamas I think).

That sounds tough @OrangeSquashPlease.

I’d probably take pot noodles and some stuff like that, plus a bag of apples or other fruit. A whole week’s worth of food and one locker to keep it in...

I hope everything goes well.

OP that sounds like a nightmare, on top of the obvious worry about your DD. At least she can have her squash and will be provided with meals.

Will they provide hot water for you if you ask? If so, I'd suggest pot noodles and cup a soup. If not, cheese and crackers/french stick/bagels - cheese should be OK for a couple of days out of a fridge. Cereal/protein bars, jam/marmite/peanut butter (unless it's a nut free environment). Tinned fruit, can you make up a cold pasta salad and take it in a box? Also cured meats, salami, pepperoni sticks if you like them, cooked cold sausages.

Good luck to your DD, I hope her surgery is succesful.

@MustardMitt

That sounds tough *@OrangeSquashPlease*.

I’d probably take pot noodles and some stuff like that, plus a bag of apples or other fruit. A whole week’s worth of food and one locker to keep it in...

I hope everything goes well.

Pot Noodles need water and I won't have access to hot water.

Letter says no nuts or peanuts.

I will look into the other stuff.

It's dreadful how much I have to take for a few days, I understand why they're restricting meals to patients only but there's no option for me to leave. I can't even leave anything in my car and get it when I need it as if I leave the ward then I won't be allowed back.

And this is apparently a "green ward" aka a none covid ward, dread to think what the red wards are like.

Op, may be worth googling self heating ready meals. They are ambient stored and heat by chemical reaction. Expensive at about £5 a pop but better than the risk. of food poisoning. Alternatively a travel kettle and pot noodles, rice , cup a soup etc.

Don't speak to the consultants secretary, they won't have a clue. Speak to the ward!

@ElizaDeee an egg challenge is where they give the child small amounts of egg and increase it gradually. Ie, start with egg on the skin then work up to egg in a cake etc.