New world-class paediatric ICU opens at Arwyp
The ward was officially approved by the Department of Health on September 21 and its first patient was admitted on September 23
ARWYP Hospital has opened a brand new children’s ICU ward that offers top-notch service for patients.
The unit officially welcomed its first patient on September 23, following an inspection two days earlier by the Department of Health to give them the green light to begin with operations.
Situated on the eighth floor of the main building, the ICU is welcoming with beautifully finished floors and ceilings right from the entrance, giving you a feeling that you’re entering a well-to-do conference centre, rather than a hospital ward.
The ward is designed to care for children, from newborns up to the age of 12, and to provide them with best possible medical care.
The walls are donned with brightly coloured paintings of characters from everyone’s favourite children’s books and cartoons such as Winnie The Pooh and Mickey Mouse.
“Once again Arwyp Medical Centre has given its patients access to world-class facilities. The new paediatric ICU includes three isolation care beds, three ICU isolation beds and five private suites for young patients, which also have room for one parent to stay the night if needs be,” Chantell Rudolph, executive marketing manager, said.
The isolation rooms are recommended from an infection control perspective and are ideal for patients who, for example, have diarrhoea, and need to be separated from other patients.
“The rooms have a negative pressure, so that the germs from within the room don’t flow out whenever the doors open, but instead sucks the air out of the room through the ventilation system,” Mark Hill, technical executive manager, explained.
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This technology prevents germs from spreading throughout the ward to other patients.
The private suites can also be used as isolation rooms and have their own bathrooms with floors that feature a non-slip texture for safety purposes, preventing the children from slipping and falling after taking a bath.
The ward is also equipped with small bulbs on the ceiling which indicate the condition of the ward: green for a healthy running condition and if the light switches off it means there is a problem with the fans.
The unit will complement the expertise and experience that Arwyp’s medical teams and nursing staff have to offer. The renovations have also taken the staff’s needs into consideration and the hospital has created staff kitchens on each floor of the hospital.
“We’re really looking after the staff now and, at the same, this is also to ensure that the nurses are in the ward at all times – for the sake of the patients’ safety and needs,” Hill said.
The hospital is also in the process of renovating the 10th and 11th floors, which are expected to be complete by November 2015.
