Birmingham Children's Hospital, Birmingham

General hospital information

  • Number of beds: N/A
  • % of single rooms: N/A
  • Total parking spaces: N/A
  • Average parking fee per hour: N/A

Address & description

Birmingham Children's Hospital,
Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, England, B4 6NH
Tel: Work 0121 333 9999
Birmingham Children's Hospital

Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UKs leading children’s hospitals, offering one of the broadest spectrums of care in the NHS to over 250,000 children every year – ranging from specialist paediatric care right through to adolescent mental health services.

We have international expertise in our 34 specialities and have a proud history of being at the leading edge of children’s healthcare, which has seen us be the first hospital to separate conjoined twins, the first hospital to successfully treat two patients with over 90 per cent burns and the first hospital to successfully undertake a triple transplant. However, we don’t just focus on the specialist end of care – we treat children with everyday injuries such as a broken arm as well as those with very serious and complex needs.

Our city centre location in the heart of the country means that the hospital is easily accessible to a broad population, and as one of only four stand alone paediatric Trusts in the UK, we deliver care not only to patients from the West Midlands region, but nationally and internationally; in fact, four out of ten of the patients that we treat are referred from outside of our immediate West Midlands area.

We recognise that whether a child has a short stay in our hospital for a relatively routine operation or needs to undergo major cardiac surgery on our world-renowned intensive care unit, having mum or dad or a loved one close by is an important part of their journey to get better. That’s why, as well as providing on-site accommodation for some parents, we’ve gone into partnership with the Ronald MacDonald House Charity to provide a new facility which provides 60 en-suite bedrooms for families to stay in, free of charge, on the main hospital site. The House has fully equipped kitchens and dining rooms for families to prepare and share a proper meal, and whether families need to stay for two nights or two years, the House is there for them to use.

We pride ourselves on being wholly focused on the needs of the children we care for, but we recognise that being in hospital and receiving treatment can be very challenging for some children. That’s why we have a team of 17 play specialists who provide children in the hospital with support around their emotional needs, offer therapeutic play and help young children to overcome any fears they have about the treatment they are going to receive. There are, of course, play facilities on every one of our wards and we have a play centre open five days a week which is available for all the family to use.

But we recognise that it’s not just young children who need the care and support we provide – older children and teenagers want to receive treatment and care in an environment that’s conducive to their recovery. That’s why we’ve teamed up with the Teenage Cancer Trust in December last year to open a six-bedded unit, complete with pool table, jukebox and kitchenette specifically designed for 13-18 year old cancer patients. We also have three dedicated youth workers who support older children by promoting self esteem and confidence.

While we have an international reputation for helping children to recover from some of the most challenging physical conditions, we also believe that a child’s mental health is just as important. That’s why we run a range of community and hospital based mental health services across Birmingham providing care and support for children and adolescents. With 44 beds and the broad range of services we provide in the community, we’re one of the biggest providers of child and adolescent mental health services in the country.

Our staff are also very important to us. Birmingham Children’s Hospital is the region’s largest provider of paediatric healthcare education – both for the medical and the nursing professions. Through close relationships with both the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University we help to ensure that the quality of paediatric healthcare education is of the highest standard so that the doctors and nurses of tomorrow are trained and equipped to deliver the standards of care we expect.

We also keep a clear focus on helping develop new and advancing technologies to enhance the care we provide. Birmingham Children’s Hospital is a centre for the West Midlands Research Network and leads research into children’s medicines, and a major new centre for paediatric research – the Wellcome Clinical Research Facility – opened at the hospital just two years ago.

As we approach our 150th anniversary in 2012, we’ve worked closely with the Care Quality Commission to understand where we can continue to improve the services we provide and are now embarking on an investment plan to deliver up to 60 percent more beds in our paediatric intensive care unit, a new emergency admissions unit and new theatres.

* this profile text was provided by Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Services at Birmingham Children's Hospital

General Services Information

Hospital Questions

  • How many single rooms are available to NHS patients at this hospital: 84
  • Of these how many have an ensuite toilet: 27
  • Of these how many have an ensuite toilet and shower or bath: 25
  • Does this hospital operate an accident and emergency unit: Yes
  • How many specialist palliative care beds are available at this hospital: 0 commentsWe work in partnership with the specialist paediatric hospice, Acorns Hospice.
  • Does this hospital have a named private unit/service: No

Trust Questions

  • Does the Trust treat private patients: Yes

Patient Safety

Trust Questions

  • Is there a system for recording operations that resulted in a foreign body being left post surgery: Yes
  • What is the reporting system for a foreign body being left post surgery: Incident reporting system giving rise to a Serious Incident Requiring Investigation.
  • Is there a system for recording operations that were cancelled due to missing notes: Yes
  • What is the reporting system for operations that were cancelled due to missing notes: Incident Reporting system or other report giving rise to a Serious Incident Requiring Investigation.
  • Is there a system for recording operations that resulted in wrong site surgery taking place: Yes
  • What is the reporting system for operations that resulted in wrong site surgery taking place: Incident Reporting system or other report giving rise to a Serious Incident Requiring Investigation.
  • During the period 01 April 2010 - 31 March 2011, how many operations resulted in a foreign body being left post surgery: 0
  • During the period 01 April 2010 - 31 March 2011, how many operations were cancelled due to missing notes: 2
  • During the period 01 April 2010 - 31 March 2011, how many operations resulted in wrong site surgery taking place: 0
  • How many incident investigations using a full Root Cause Analysis did were carried out in 2010/11: 54 commentsBCH believes in a high reporting culture. The threshold for incident investigations is low and results in a large number of incidents subject to detailed investigation.
  • What percentage of patient safety incidents resulting in severe harm or death had a full RCA initiated/completed: 100%
  • What percentage of acute inpatients have a track and trigger warning system in place for the duration of the admission: 100%
  • Compliant with all relevant NPSA safety alerts issues in 2010/11 (you can find a full list of alerts issued at http://www.nrls.npsa.nhs.uk/resources/?p=3). : Yes commentsWe have implemented the recommendations for all safety alerts that were required to be implemented in 2010-11. We continue to deliver action plans to address the recommendations of those alerts where deadlines are still due.
  • Does the Trust have a policy for providing educational programmes on using and interpreting clinical indicators: Yes
  • Does the Trust have a designated member of staff who supports teams in locating and analysing safety and quality data? (support): Yes commentsChief Medical Officer and Associate Chief Medical Officer for safety lead patient safety initiatives at Trust.
  • Is safety and quality data available on a central platform and actively disseminated to users: Yes

Infection Control

Trust Questions

  • Does the Trust employ an antibiotic pharmacist: Yes
  • Does the Trust operate a pre-admission assessment clinic or equivalent system where patients are screened and results returned in advance of the day of admission: Yes commentsPaediatric hospitals are excluded from routine screening of all patients. Only patients in high risk groups are required to be screened.
  • Elective patient groups screened at the pre-op assessment clinic: All elective surgical and medical commentsPaediatric hospitals are excluded from routine screening of all patients. Only patients in high risk groups are required to be screened.
  • Are all oncology patients screened at the pre-op assessment clinic: YES commentsWhere appropriate.
  • Are all chemotherapy patients screened at the pre-op assessment clinic: YES commentsWhere appropriate.
  • Are all elective neurosurgery patients screened at the pre-op assessment clinic: YES commentsWhere appropriate.
  • Are all patients with past history of MRSA screened at the pre-op assessment clinic: Yes commentsWhere appropriate.
  • What method of MRSA screening is used when screening at admission: Other (please specify) commentsPCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) for PICU admissions and cardiac surgery patients. Culture screening between 24 and 48 hours for other surgical and cardiology patients.
  • On admission, does topical suppression take place immediately: Yes commentsPaediatric hospitals are excluded from routine screening of all patients. Only patients in high risk groups are required to be screened.
  • Does the Trust have at least one accident and emergency unit: Yes
  • Are all patients admitted through A&E screened: No commentsPaediatric hospitals are excluded from routine screening of all patients. Only patients in high risk groups are required to be screened.
  • Is screening done according to individual risk assessment: Yes commentsPaediatric hospitals are excluded from routine screening of all patients. Only patients in high risk groups are required to be screened.
  • Does the Trust have a dedicated isolation ward: No commentsBCH has a high proportion of side rooms (30% of all rooms) in comparison to other hospitals. Infectious children are able to be isolated within cubicle capacity on each ward.
  • How many beds does it contain: 84
  • Protocol for isolating patients with infections: BCH has a high proportion of side rooms (30% of all rooms) in comparison to other hospitals. Infectious children are able to be isolated within cubicle capacity on each ward.
  • Does the Trust have an isolation policy: Yes
  • Where medically appropriate, are patients with C Diff isolated in single rooms as a matter of priority: Yes
  • Does the Trust prescribe probiotics to any patient groups as a prophylactic measure to reduce C.difficile infections: No commentsThere are very few children with C.difficile infections. In year 2010/11 there were only 2 cases of C.difficile at BCH.
  • Does the Trust have a policy to guide the use of metronidazole and vancomycin for C.difficile infected patients: Yes
  • Does the Trust routinely isolate all patients with diarrhoea: Yes

Stroke Medicine

Trust Questions

  • Does the Trust have a specialist stroke unit or units: No commentsAs a paediatric trust we do not have a specific stroke unit as very few children have strokes. We are the regional centre for all paediatric stroke treatment and all patients are managed by our specialist neurology team.
  • Is the Trust part of a stroke care network: Yes
  • Details: BCH is the regional centre for stroke care and also work with other national specialist paediatric stroke centres.
  • How many emergency admissions with a primary diagnosis of stroke (ICD10 codes I60 - I64) did the Trust receive in the financial year (period 01 April 2010 - 31 March 2011): 13
  • Is thrombolysis for stroke patients provided 24 hours per day and 7 days a week : No commentsStrokes are very rare in children and treatment varies from child to child depending upon the clinical circumstances.
  • Are there any formal arrangements with neighbouring hospitals for the emergency transfer of stroke patients who would benefit from thrombolytic treatment: No commentsAs a paediatric trust we do not have a specific stroke unit as very few children have strokes. We are the regional centre for all paediatric stroke treatment and all patients are managed by our specialist neurology team.

Trauma & Orthopaedics

Trust Questions

  • Does the Trust offer a trauma service: Yes commentsWe work in partnership with the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital,Birmingham.
  • Does the Trust have a dedicated trauma list available 24 hours a day for the duration of the week, (Sunday to Sunday): Yes
  • Does the Trust offer an orthopaedics service: Yes commentsWe work in partnership with the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham.
  • Do all the Trust's orthopaedic ward/team have a linked geriatric team with whom they have regular meetings at least once a week: No commentsThis is not applicable to Birmingham Children's Hospital. We are a paediatric trust.
  • Does the Trust run a pre-operative patient education session/class for patients to attend prior to Total Knee Replacement (TKR) and Total Hip Replacement (THR)? : No commentsBCH only provides Hip Reconstruction. Total Hip or Knee replacements are extremely rare in Paediatrics and if they do occur they are operated on at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.
  • Not able to put a figure on the percentage of all patients that attend the class prior to surgery: Yes
  • Does the Trust have a standardised anaesthetic protocol for Total Knee Replacement (TKR) and Total Hip Replacement (THR) patients: No commentsBCH only provides Hip Reconstruction. Total Hip or Knee replacements are extremely rare in Paediatrics and if they do occur they are operated on at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.
  • Not able to put a figure on the percentage of the Trusts total knee replacement (TKR) and total hip replacement (THR) patients walk within 24 hours of surgery: Yes commentsBCH only provides Hip Reconstruction. Total Hip or Knee replacements are extremely rare in Paediatrics and if they do occur they are operated on at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.
  • Does the Trust have a specialist orthopaedic physiotherapy service which is available 7 days a week: Yes commentsThis is only provided to expedite discharge, but not routinely every weekend as there is currently not an identified need.
  • How many patients' discharge's delayed due to lack of physiotherapy services at weekends - estimated figure: 0 commentsWeekend physiotherapy is provided at weekends if required to support discharge.
  • Are patients for total knee replacement (TKR) and total hip replacement (THR) admitted prior to the day of surgery: No commentsBCH only provides Hip Reconstruction. Total Hip or Knee replacements are extremely rare in Paediatrics and if they do occur they are operated on at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.
  • Are patient records routinely recorded using a specific multi-disciplinary team THR/TKR pathway document: No commentsBCH only provides Hip Reconstruction. Total Hip or Knee replacements are extremely rare in Paediatrics and if they do occur they are operated on at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.
  • Is criteria-based discharge used: No commentsBCH only provides Hip Reconstruction. Total Hip or Knee replacements are extremely rare in Paediatrics and if they do occur they are operated on at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.
  • Are patients routinely phoned in the first 48 hours after discharge to check on their progress: No commentsBCH only provides Hip Reconstruction. Total Hip or Knee replacements are extremely rare in Paediatrics and if they do occur they are operated on at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.

Paediatrics

Hospital Questions

  • Does the hospital have a paediatrics service: Yes commentsWe also provide Child and Adolescent services from the Birmingham Children's Hospital and community mental health sites. Our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services treat patients in 9 locations across the community and also sees patients in shared and alternative accomodation including homes, schools and community based clinics.

Trust Questions

  • Is the Trust's elective paediatric surgery carried out only by designated surgeons with at least six months training in a specialist unit: Yes
  • Do the Trust's anaesthetists with responsibility for paediatric anaesthesia participate in at least one paediatric list per week: Yes
  • Is a paediatrician on site (SpR or higher) 24 hours per day, 7 days per week: Yes commentsClinical cover is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and the Trust has an on call and Hospital at Night Service.
  • Are at least two registered children's nurses on duty 24hours per day in each children's ward: Yes commentsAs a paediatric trust, there is always a minimum of two registered children's nurses on our wards at a time.
  • Is there a designated facility on site for parents or guardians to stay overnight: Yes commentsThere are over 60 rooms available for families including rooms next to wards.

Palliative Care

Trust Questions

  • Does the Trust provide a palliative care service: Yes commentsThere is a specific service within oncology and haematology services, provided by a specialist macmillan team. Other disciplines provide palliative care to patients with life limiting and end of life condtions and will use the support of community specialist palliative care teams and hospices for additional advise and support as appropriate.
  • How is specialist palliative care delivered at the hospital: Other (please specify) commentsThere is a weekly palliative care MDT meeting for oncology/ heamatology patients. Other disciplines use generic MDT to support pallaitive care patients. The Trust will also use the support of community specialist palliative care teams and hospices for additional advise and support.
  • Does the hospital's specialist palliative team includes: A palliative care nurse,Other (please specify) commentsAt Birmingham Children's Hospital there are Consultants who have a specialist interest in palliative care, who provide trust wide support. There is a specialist palliative care Macmillan team in Oncology/Haematology. There is a pain team and also a number of clinical nurse specialists whose workload will include a proportion of patients with life limiting and such as IMD and Complex Care Teams. There is no designated counsellor with a palliative care remit. However, there is a psychology team who provide an on call service, that covers all specialities. There is also a social work team whom provide the oncology service.
  • Is the Trust's specialist palliative care team available 24 hrs a day seven days a week: Yes
  • Are facilities provided to support relatives and carers who wish to stay with a patient in hospital: Yes
  • Does the Trust routinely survey and evaluate the views of patients and bereaved relatives and carers regarding the delivery of care on the end of life programme: Yes comments During 2010- 2011 there have been a number of events; A Square Table regional consultation event on palliative and end of life care was held which involved parents. Bereavement support events include; the memorial service and the memorial walk and picnic provide opportunity for evaluation and feedback. Parents, carers, siblings, children and young people have participated and been consulted on the Department of Health palliative care funded projects; including the development of supportive resources for siblings, supporting parents and siblings on the journey of grief, development of an Advanced Care Plan and the development of multi faith pathways.

Trust Statistics

Trust Questions

Consultants at Birmingham Children's Hospital

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