to think if hospital's could really benefit from a crèche facility

[wheresthelight]

i am having massive issues trying to schedule an appointment for a scan at my local hospital because they have a policy that if you turn up with kids and no additional adult to mind them they wont do the scan. now i totally understand this but the appointment lady keeos getting really shirty on the phone with me when i say i can't do a given day as i have no childcare. i am sahm currently, dp works nights and we have no famiky locally to help out. i need to arrange around his days off which do not follow a set pattern unfortunately. i can only imagine how hard single parents with no support manage!

surely hospitals should understand thia and would benefit from some form of crèche facility? i would happily pay a few quid to leave dd so i didnt have to worry about it and it would mean that things would progress a lot quicker.

i know funding isn't their for it through the nhs but it would be nice in an ideal world!

apologies the phone app doesn't like the accent on the e in creche

Do they have no morning appointments?

Relatively few people have this problem, though, so demand probably isn't enough to merit the cost of a crèche facility.

Could your husband book annual leave?
Or see if a local nursery or child minder could help you out?

Yes. That sounds good. I'm sure there are practical considerations that probably make it unworkable but it would have been an awesome facility when my Dad was dying and I wanted to spend some more time with him but he didn't want them to see him in such a sad state. There would be all sorts of scenarios that would make a hospital crèche a brilliant help.

Them= the children

YANBU! As a single parent with no support, I spent years missing necessary appointments, from dentistry and GP, through to hospital and counselling. I couldn't access anything, due to a lack of childcare.

At one point, I raised this issue with surestart and through the HV, was offered some creche placements. Unfortunately, it took them a long time to arrange them and by then, I'd had to cancel so many appointments, I was back to the start of the referral procedures. By the time the referrals came back through, the creche sessions had ended!

Very frustrating.

Our local hospital has this! We are in the Netherlands and you can take your children to the crèche if you're there for an appointment or to visit someone where you can't take children. It's located in the children/maternity section. I think it's a brilliant idea.

Oh, and it's free.

Could you not get an early morning appointment, leave your child with their dad & then when you get home he can go to bed?

devils advocate here-

Come on. You aren't a single mum. Your DP works nights. You are better off that a lot of Mums who's DPs work long days or have long commutes. Either he takes a day off or....maybe has a shorter sleep/sleeps in a different portion of the day/night.

Most mums of small kids have done a full days work having been up for 3-4hrs with a wakeful or slightly poorly child.

All he has to do is have a duvet morning/afternoon on the sofa with his own child where they can both relax and watch wall to wall Disney or something that is usually " forbidden fruit" to keep the child watching. THen you get home and he can go to bed properly.

Surely the hospital cannot deprive you of essential care just because you cannot comply with a policy. Surely it is up to you if you take your children in with you - you know the scan might not go well and have to take the chance if there's no one who can do childcare. Far worse imo to not give you the scan and risk discovering a problem when it's too late to get help. I would argue that the hospital are negligent if they refuse to see you.

I understand the sense brhind this policy but hospitals have to understand that some people really have few options.

My DH works nights in a very physical job and I agree with Theas18

It can be tough but it's not like it's an every day occurrence.

theas true in the OPs case, but I still think she makes a good point in that it would be a good idea to have some form of crèche as a n add on to,healthcare facilities. Let's face it, most council run sports centres manage it, so if the will were there it would be a good model for the to follow.

Hire a babysitter, just like single parents have to do. Or seeing as you are not a single parent, then your husband could have a couple of hours less sleep for one day.

How are the hospital negligent?

What about kids who won't sit still and babies who wont stop crying? Distractions like that can cause all sorts of problems and misdiagnosis etc.

Not to mention the danger aspect when both the sonographer and the mother are concentrating on what they are there for and no-one is keeping an eye on the toddler/child.

I had this problem when my dh was in hospital and when my mum was in hospital due to complications from cancer. It was so hard trying to get someone who could have my dcs for a couple of hours so I could visit dh/my mum. it was the same for scans and appointments in my last pregnancy.

I said that a crèche would make it so much easier to get to appointments when you have young dcs and most friends have said the same at one time or another. It's not just appointments or visiting when kids aren't allowed but also when you need to concentrate on what the doctor is telling you, it almost impossible to do that with a toddler trying to destroy everything or crying to get out of the pushchair.

Yes, I agree delekanium. The OP is saying that she would use this facility and can see that others, who find it even more tricky to arrange childcare, might use it too. Actually, the more I think about it the more important it seems. I wonder what silent childcare contortions that parents, but mostly women, have to arrange to access essential healthcare?

Morning appointment and he does with less sleep one night. He can take annual leave. Hire a sitter.

Theas18 has hit the nail on the head. Why can't your husband just stay up a bit when he gets home while u go for your scan? My husband works far away so goes out 7 and isn't home until 7/8pm. I just pay a childminder or take the kids with me. What about a friend can they not look after your dc for a few hours?

Although it's a nice idea, I find most departments are quite relaxed about children coming along.

Are there many babysitting services that are happy to 'sit' on the morning? Aren't people who 'sit' usually working outside of their work hours on an evening or weekend. Are 'sitters' happy to be flexible about time, given that hospital appointment can run over by hours or that a person might get bad news that requires immediate further testing? I don't know of any services in my area that would fit the bill.

Hmmm. I guess it would probably be useful in theory

But from a hospital perspective, they are probably much more interested in keeping any unnecessary people out of the hospital. Especially young kids.

I personally wouldn't find the combination of hospital - lots of germs (inevitably!! it's a hospital!) and creche - Haven of all germs everywhere - to be a very great combination.

Presumably if you need an appointment, you take the next available one in, say, three weeks time (if you're lucky), and then you book a babysitter for a half day, or ask another mother if they could take the child for a few hours due to a hospital appointment.

My husband works nights and he has in the past - stayed up later ie not gone to bed until 10am, or woken up earlier - 2.30pm so I can take a later appointment in the afternoon. On his last night when he gets in at 8am, he only sleeps until 1.00pm so he can go to bed that night at 10/11pm - would any of these work? It's how we organise dentist/GP/school appt etc basically anywhere where I couldn't take the youngest preschooler.

unfortunately the hospital is an hours drive each way amd they are always running behind so dp having her on a day he ia working is not an option. the clinic also only has access to the scanning department in an afternoon on 1 particular day.

i am fully aware that people have to find ways to manage and i do but i also think that they shouldnt get shirty when its their own policy that causes the issue and that it would be nice of there was such a facility to make everyones lives easier

Yes it's a nice idea but given how cash strapped the NHS is I don't see it happening.
I couldn't go and see my mum in hospital as she was in a hospital hundreds of miles from where I live and hubby had to work. There was no under 14's allowed on the ward and didn't have anyone to leave her with so had to wait till she was home. She understood and said that dd needed me more than she did. A crèche probably would have helped so I could of seen my mum for a hour or so.