Information for parents and guardians

Dear Readers,

Your child has been qualified for a procedure at MEDINET. To help you prepare for the stay in the hospital, we prepared some information. We would appreciate your active help and participation in this process.

Before the hospitalisation

A cardiac surgeon or paediatric cardiologist will initially qualify your child for surgical treatment. This will typically take place at the Department of Paediatric Cardiology, Department of Neonatology, Paediatric Cardiology Clinic or Heart Disease Clinic. Following the initial qualification, the child’s parents of legal guardians arrange the date of admission to the hospital with the paediatric cardiac surgeon on the phone. Please remember that it is important to prepare your child for the hospitalisation and discuss with her/him what it may involve. This will help your child get ready for what comes next. If your child can already read, it could be a good idea to show her/him the Charter of Child Patient’s Rights which explains the rights of children in a concise and easy way.

What should you take to the hospital?

Necessary documents:

• referral to the hospital,
• child’s medical record book,
• child’s personal ID no. (PESEL) (if the child has not been assigned the PESEL no., a parent’s or guardian’s PESEL no. will be required),
• current test results (if ordered),
• medications the child is taking,
• if the guardian is not the parent – a document confirming the guardianship.

Necessary items:

• care products (nappies, wet wipes, cream, liquid soap, comb),
• child’s things: socks, rompers, teat, feeding bottle, milk that the child drinks (if the child is fed with breast milk, the milk should be expressed into single-use containers, labelled with the child’s name and surname and the date and time the milk was expressed),
• a toy that can easily be disinfected.

The patients stay in double rooms, and one of the parents or a guardian may be with the child at all times. Parents or guardians stay at the hospital free of charge. It is possible to order meals, which are payable.  Parents and guardians may use a fridge at the department, next to the nurses room, or a microwave and a kettle in the social room at the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department.

During the entire stay at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, our young patients are under a constant supervision of physicians and nurses. If the treatment process allows, parents or guardians can also take care of the child.

Please do not take valuables or large sums of money to the hospital. The hospital is not liable for their loss.

Admission

1. On the day of admission to the hospital, we are waiting for you between 07:30 and 11:00. On the ground floor, next to the registration desk, you will find the Admission Room. Having complete all the formalities at the Admission Room, please come to the Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery on the 1st floor.
2. In the case of scheduled surgical procedures, the parents/legal guardians and the child should come to the hospital one day before the scheduled procedure.
3. The hospital stay before the procedure is required to perform the necessary diagnostic tests, prepare the child for the procedure and anaesthesia. Every child is examined by an anaesthesiologist within 24 hours before the procedure. During the visit of the anaesthesiologist, you should have the current laboratory test results, medical records from previous hospitalisations and medical notices from specialists (if they were or are required). This will help the anaesthesiologist to decide about the qualification and the type of anaesthesia.
4. You may be asked to complete a survey questionnaire with questions regarding various diseases your child may have. Please answer all the questions. If you are uncertain, please wait with completing the questionnaire for the anaesthesiologist who will clear your doubts and ask additional questions. During the visit, the anaesthesiologist will explain the planned method of anaesthesia to you and your child.

Sometimes parents have many doubts, so here are the answers to the most frequent questions:

Is anaesthesia associated with risks?

All medical procedures are associated with a certain degree of risk. However, modern anaesthesia is safe and complications are observed very rarely. If you have any doubts, please discuss them with an anaesthesiologist who will explain everything. Please remember that our patients are monitored and supervised by nurses and physicians throughout their stay at the Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery and at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy.

If you feel uncertain, confused or lost, in our hospital you have the opportunity to talk to a psychologist working at the department.

Please remember that nurses can give you information related to the care over the child to facilitate recovery, but regarding the health status and the treatment process, you should ask a physician.

When taking care of your child, please keep in mind the needs of other patients and adjust your behaviour to the situation. It is particularly important to follow the instructions of the medical personnel - they offer invaluable help to you and your child.

Information for visitors

1. Please respect the visiting hours
   • Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery - from 10:00 to 19:00.
   • Department of Paediatric Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care - only a parent or legal guardian may stay with the child at the department, at the hours determined by the medical personnel. Outside visitors who do not stay with the child can see the child only with the permission of the medical personnel. All visitors must follow disinfection instructions and wear single-use protective clothing available in the corridor at the department. Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery and Department of Paediatric Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy is a special place and it requires particular cleanliness, order and discipline from the employees, patients and their close ones.
2. Taking young children to visit a patient at the hospital is not a good idea, as this is not a child-friendly environment.
3. We appreciate your understanding – one patient may have no more than two visitors at the same time at the Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery and only one visitor at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy.
4. If you have cold, fever or you are sick, you should not come to the hospital. Patients after surgeries, especially children, must be protected against infections, as they can be very dangerous for such patients.
5. Another patient may share the room with your child, so please ask the medical personnel if your visit will not disturb the therapeutic activities performed in the room.
6. Please do not bring any food without consulting a physician, in particular large quantities of fruits, cheese, yoghurt or juices that may go off. Never bring sweets.

End of hospital stay

1. After the treatment at the hospital, at discharge, parents or guardians receive a hospital discharge summary report and referrals, e.g. for the services recommended in the report, such as rehabilitation, or referrals to specialists, as well as prescriptions for the necessary drugs, food for special medical purposes and medical devices.
2. On the day of discharge, your physician will discuss the recommendations regarding your child’s diet, activity and medications, as well as set up the dates for future consultations. They are necessary to monitor the recovery process and introduce corrections to the treatment as soon as possible. Please make sure the documents do not contain errors and are signed.

Additional information for parents and guardians:

The communication between parents / guardians and the child is of utmost importance. Do not tell your child that they won’t feel any pain or that nurses and doctors won’t do anything. Your child may feel they have been misled; it is better to explain what procedures will be performed and for what purpose. Fear in children is often a reaction to the unknown, so it is a good idea to explain, e.g. in the form of a story, the course of examination, blood draw or other activities performed by the medical personnel. Please remember that during examinations the child, not the parent, is the partner in the conversation, and the physician or nurse must bond with the patient and get their trust. If the parents/guardians show trust to the medical personnel, it will be easier to gain the child’s favour. It is a good idea to let the young patient have their favourite toy with them – anything to increase their courage and comfort.

A child under 16 years of age may receive healthcare services only with the permission and in the presence of a legal representative.

If the child is over 16 years old, they may give their consent after having received a complete and comprehensible information about their health status from the physician. They may also refuse a given healthcare service or demand that it is stopped. A separate consent to the hospital stay and all the other tests and medical services must be provided. The consent may be oral, in writing or expressed by a behaviour that leaves no doubts as to the decision taken. A written consent is required in the case of a surgical procedure or if the treatment or diagnostic method is associated with an increased risk to patient’s health or life.

If the child is 16 - 18 years old and does not consent to a healthcare service and their legal representative disagrees with their choice, the decision is made by a guardianship court.