to think a new children's hospital should realise they will have diabled children using it

[2shoes]

just been for dd's pre op.
no proper long bed sides, the ones they have are very low,and don't go ftom one end to the other.
no toilet seat she can use!!! so will have to take a bed pan in.
no arm chairs that are suitable
makes you wonder if they think disabled children don't exist

i agree its rubbish isnt it!
ds goes into hospital tomorrow for his Fundoplication to be redone, probably need to stay in for the rest of the week so ds who has been doing so well with his toilet chair will be back to nappies full time as they dont have a suitable seat!

it is so stupid.
takes you ages to get them dry, and then this
I just don't get it tbh, they have a hoist and rifton bath aid, yet no toilet seat!!!

Is that the new hospital? I must admit I was impressed with how beautiful it is inside but we had to wait for ds's x-ray in an enormous foyer-type area with lots of rooms going off it and a big structure in the middle that you can't see round. Not much fun if you have a runner! (or in ds's case a compulsive pacer - he can't sit still for more than 2 mins).

could you prepare a list of faults and present them to the - matron? director? and ask them to explain why these things are missing?

Mmm. Doesn't surprise me. Was in hosp. for quick appt for DD the other day and while the pediatric area is great, went to the new cafe and all the seat were these kind of rotating bar stools. Bad enough with kids (disabled or otherwise) but saw quite a few perfectly fit but elderly people struggling to get onto them. Don't think they think about who's actually going to use them. And that doesn't even begin to cover the lifts not working and these poor people with drips trying to get up and down the escalators. Dread to imagine what you would have down with someone in a wheelchair. However, the toilet seat thing is v. poor indeed. I'd be pretty annoyed if I'd got my child dry and had to put them back in nappies!

yest it is the new hospital, it is lovely and I had no problems when I took ds a couple of years ago. but with dd the fact I won't be able to leave her or put her on the toilet will be a bummer. (when I say leave I mean go to the toilet or have a coffee, I do hope they bend the rules and allow me a coffee in her room...
dh is comming at lunch time and ds a bit later, so we will cope, but we shouldn't have to just cope

but 2shoes dont you know that if a child needs a hoist and bath seat they cant possibly be dry!!

as im a single parent i'll have to rely on my mum or dad making the 40 mile round trip (on the train as they dont drive)to let me out for a bit of lunch, then it'll be a soggy sandwich from the machine for dinner....cant wait!!

Can you write and point out the failings! Would the patient liason service be able to put these essential things in place for you?
( Hope it all goes well)

Find it all but impossible in our hospital. I used the folding parent matresses tilted against the not-so-long sides last time we were in. And a carseat so DS could be strapped into a safeseat. Next time i.m bringing his homechair.

Still wasnt possible to leave the cubicle and the nurses are so stretched covering medical care that although they try I couldnt get anyone to cover long enough so I could go down to the vending machine. Except at night when DS was by then asleep on my chest..

Having learnt the hard way I bring my own food to cover the stay, but its an ordeal that reminds you exactly why proper equipment (or even something approximating it) makes all the difference in the world

Hope your DD's op goes well

When DS was in same hospital, I think I remember having to remove the bed and put the mattress on the floor! Good job too as he came out of anaesthetic flailing around wildly. The staff were pleasant but seemed to regard him somewhat like an alien visiting from another planet. Had no idea how to handle him so I stayed all the time. Luckily, we were given a side room with a little parents room attached for me to sleep in.

Don't tell anyone, but he broke their telly too

Sorry that the hospital is rubbish. Good luck to DD during her OP!! Hope it is not too bad for you and her during your stay. What is DD having done?