Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Health to detail any measures that have been put in place at the Children’s Haematology and Oncology Unit in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, given the extra pressures of flu with two fewer beds on the ward. [Priority Written]
Minister of Health: Colleagues at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children (RBHSC) have confirmed that seasonal flu has increased demand for inpatient care across all areas of the hospital, creating additional pressure on bed availability. The Children’s Haematology / Oncology inpatient unit has the ability to flex up and utilise the two inpatient beds to meet service demand for this specific cohort of patients who require Haematology/Oncology inpatient care, as is required.
The flexibility is supported by robust contingency measures including the redeployment of staff from other areas when required, ongoing close monitoring of staff sickness, continuous review of patient flow across all clinical areas, discharge planning to optimise bed availability and the use of the site-wide escalation plan. This ongoing approach ensures safe care delivery remains the highest priority.
The Children’s Haematology ward and the Children’s Haematology Outpatients department operate as a whole unit, providing support and cross cover of nursing staff between the two departments, as required, to safely deliver care. Using a risk assessed approach, the 10 bedded ward has temporarily reduced to eight inpatient beds, with the two remaining beds currently being used for day case chemotherapy cases. Using a day case model allows for optimal utilisation of skilled nursing staff across both areas. Any child who it is determined requires an in-patient bed, following Clinician-led triage, is admitted to an appropriate bed, based on clinical need, in line with the normal site-wide escalation plan.
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