Childrens Ambulatory Unit (CAU)

Patient Information Leaflet - A Parent's Guide

Ambulatory care is same day emergency care

• Our Children's Ambulatory Unit (CAU) is a safe way of providing care.
• It aims to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and allows us to observe children for longer.
• This is not possible in our Children’s Emergency Department.
• Together with our Children’s Community Nursing teams, the CAU provides ongoing treatment and review for children who have recently been discharged from hospital.
• This is a day treatment service, so we may ask children and their families/carers to come back the following day for further review.
• The unit offers greater capacity to treat more children and young people from Islington, Haringey, and surrounding areas.
• Services include intravenous antibiotics, observation, assessments, and other investigations including Ultrasounds, X-RAYS and MRI scans.
• The Children's Ambulatory Unit is on Level 2.

Facilities

• The facilities include a child play area and free Wi-Fi is available.
• On level 1 you will find:
  • The N19 restaurant (Mon-Frid: 7am - 3 pm)
  • The Muffin Break coffee shop (Mon- Fri: 7am - 6pm / weekends: 8am - 5pm)
  • The XLNT café (Mon-Fri 6am - 5.15pm / weekends: 8am - 2.15pm)
• Vending machines can be found in the emergency department or by the Jenner exit.
• There is a small chapel and a multifaith room in the hospital. Ask your nurse for details.
• There is no parking at the hospital. There are very limited pay and display spaces outside the hospital.
• An interpreting service is available, please ask your nurse if you require one.

High quality specialist care

• The Children's Ambulatory Unit (CAU) is an important part of our acute paediatric service.
• It is led by Doctors and is helped by a complete team of specialists who work with children.
• The CAU's nursing team consists of:
  • Ward Manager & CAU Lead
  • Paediatric Staff Nurses & Health Care Assistants
• For further information about our team of specialists, please call the Children's Ambulatory Unit on 020 7288 3560.

Arrival

• On arrival you will first be seen by a member of the nursing team.
• Children are either placed in a side room, an examination bed or into the children's waiting area.
• We will confirm the reason for your attendance, as well as your child's personal details such as date of birth, home address and contact telephone number.
• After this, your child's clinical vital signs will be checked and recorded.
• The nursing team will then complete any tests needed, such as blood tests, delivery of intravenous (into the vein) antibiotics and sample collection.
• They will ensure that any requested scans take place.
• Some patients can then be discharged by the nursing team, but most patients will be reviewed by the appropriate medical team.
• There are various medical teams that see their patients in CAU, including the Emergency Department (ED) team, acute paediatrics, general surgery and urology.

Waiting room

• The children's waiting area has a selection of toys for younger children to play with and a TV.
• The play specialist will help, when possible, to provide suitable toys for patients and their siblings.
• There is a toilet and baby-change facility available.
• We have a small supply of formula milk and nappies for infants available on request, although wherever possible, parents should bring these with them to the department.

Clinical area

• When it is time for your child to be seen, they are moved from the waiting room to an individual cubicle in the clinical area.
• The cubicles contain a trolley for the patient, seats for parents or guardians and a TV to help entertain and distract children while they are waiting.
• When possible, the play specialist will help prepare children for any uncomfortable procedures e.g. having blood tests or intravenous antibiotics.

Ifor Ward

• If your child requires further treatment that cannot be managed in the CAU, we will transfer you and your child to Ifor Ward.
• This is the general paediatric ward at the Whittington Hospital.
• It has 17 beds, and we look after approximately 2,000 children per year who have medical and surgical conditions.
• Your child will have their own Consultant and a Nurse or healthcare assistant at all times.

Support going home

• The welfare and comfort of the child and their family is our priority.
• We know that getting children home as soon as possible is key to this.
• The CAU team will help support children receiving care at home if possible, ensuring care is coordinated with our children's community nursing services.
• Some of the community nursing teams that CAU works with includes Haringey, Camden & South Barnet, Islington, Barnet, and Enfield.

Community Children's Nurses

• If your child needs continuing care, for example ongoing intravenous antibiotics, we can arrange for community nurses to visit you in your home to provide the care your child needs.
• Community Nursing teams are specialised in:
  • cancer care
  • allergies
  • eczema
  • asthma
  • wound management
  • intravenous (into the vein) medication
  • complex and continuing care
  • palliative and end of life care
  • neonatal nursing care.
• The 'hospital at home' service works in partnership with acute paediatric services at Whittington and University College London Hospital (UCLH.
• They provide nursing care in the home for acutely unwell babies, children, and young people.
• The hospital at home team takes referrals for all babies, children and young people in both Islington and Haringey, as long as they fit the necessary criteria.

Contact details

• For further information or if you have any questions, please call the Children's Ambulatory Unit on 020 7288 3560