Quality award for hospital children’s unit

The Children’s Assessment Unit at the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital has been awarded the ‘You’re Welcome’ award for making its health services young people friendly.

The Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital is based at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and offers a range of emergency, medical and surgical care for babies and children up to age 16.

Dr Mark Dyke, Associate Medical Director for Children’s Services at the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital, said: “We are delighted to receive this award which highlights the patient-friendly approach of our teams. We see young people who are quite poorly, so it’s important that our young patients feel comfortable with the service when they are feeling quite vulnerable.”

Sally Child, from NHS Norfolk and Waveney said: “We would like to congratulate the Children’s Assessment Unit at the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital. NHS organisations which want to be ’You’re Welcome’ accredited have to demonstrate they go the extra mile to ensure young patients are listened to and that services are designed with their needs and interests fully in mind.”

“You’re Welcome” is a National Quality Accreditation Scheme from the Department of Health which is awarded to show that services have been assessed as Young People friendly and of a high standard. The assessment is carried out locally by NHS Norfolk and Waveney.

The Children's Assessment Unit (CAU) cares for over 6,000 young patients each year, providing a 24-hour service for children of up to 16 years old who have been referred by their GP, Out of Hours Centres, or A&E. After being assessed and treated, patients may spend a few hours in CAU where their condition is monitored. About 60% of patients are well enough to go home and the rest are admitted to Buxton Ward or the Young Person’s Unit.

For more information, go to: www.nnuh.nhs.uk/JennyLind/