To ensure that local children have access to high quality and reliable care, the Paediatric Ward at Bassetlaw Hospital is changing to provide an enhanced day time urgent assessment and treatment service, seven days a week.
The national shortage of specialist paediatric medical and nursing staff has adversely affected provision of overnight services at Bassetlaw Hospital for a number of months, and despite efforts to recruit to vacancies, these have not been successful.
As our first priority is to ensure safe, high quality services for our patients, the Paediatric Ward, known as A3, will close to admissions from 7pm each day from 30 January 2017 (raising to 7pm in the next few weeks if clinically appropriate). Although the overnight service cannot be maintained, acute paediatrics are being enhanced and will be available from 8am to 10pm, seven days a week, creating a ‘consultant-led Paediatric Assessment Unit’. Any children requiring an overnight stay will be transferred to neighbouring Doncaster Royal Infirmary (DRI).
This revised specialist service will deliver urgent assessment, diagnosis and treatment which will reduce the amount of time patients have to spend on the ward and decrease admissions. The number of children who do stay overnight has fallen over recent years with the ward, A3, caring for an average of six children. This model of care is consistent with Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health guidance, and data shows that almost 85 per cent of all patients stay just one night or less and most children will benefit from an enhanced assessment and treatment service. Urgent transport for children who do require an overnight stay will be available, and is being jointly commissioned by NHS Bassetlaw Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the Trust.
Mike Pinkerton, Chief Executive at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals, said: “We have worked in partnership with the CCG to ensure we maintain a safe and effective service for the people of Bassetlaw and surrounding areas. It would be simply unsafe to admit children when we do not have sufficient doctors or nurses to look after them. Although we have no choice but to end overnight stays for sick children at the hospital, the Trust plans to maintain paediatric services at Bassetlaw, as exemplified by our very recent investment of £278,000 to provide purpose-built children’s outpatient facilities, and many of these changes will in fact enhance the care we offer to our patients.”
Idris Griffiths, Chief Officer of Bassetlaw CCG, said: “Caring for children requires specialist skills and, due to significant staffing shortages, the hospital has had to introduce changes to services. However, our GP-led Governing Body welcomes the enhanced consultant led day-time service, and the expected reduction in the need for overnight admissions which can often be stressful for both the child and their family.
“To improve the current daytime service, the hospital is maximising opening times and the Trust will be providing special urgent outpatient clinics with senior paediatricians to support children’s care. These changes also ensure that paediatric medical support to the Emergency Department can be maintained and so children can still attend the Emergency Department at Bassetlaw Hospital. Children will only be transferred to Doncaster or Sheffield Children’s Hospital if they need to stay overnight.”
The Trust, in partnership with the CCG, will also continually review the service model put in place to understand the effectiveness of the changes and the impact on local people. The numbers of children requiring transfer will be monitored weekly, to ensure transfers are appropriate and have not increased against the expected number of admissions.
Sheffield Children’s Hospital will also be involved in the service evaluation and the Trust will continue to work with children’s services across South Yorkshire to develop a recruitment drive in order to meet the standards in the ‘Facing the Future’ guidelines for paediatric care.
Based on historical data, we expect to transfer no more than six children per week, however, during the initial implementation stages, we may see this figure rise as the service is embedded.
The Trust has a small number of children who frequently visit the ward and stay overnight. We will work with these children, and their families, to ensure that there is a personal care plan in place for any future stays.
These changes have been developed in partnership by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals and Bassetlaw CCG. This is not related to the ongoing public consultation into Children’s Surgery and Anaesthesia Services which is currently taking place across South Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.