Hospital stay

[Mollycat]

Hi, my DS has to have his tonsills out in a few weeks (the day after his 3rd birthday) and we have a couple of options which we cant make a decision what way to to with... hope you can help with your experiences...

Option 1 - we have private health insurance and can get it done asap at a private hospital but as the doc recommends toddlers stay in the high depency ward therefore its shared beds and would be in with the rest of the general patients (ie. no play area / toys).

Option 2 - we can get it done at the Women's and Children's (public hosp) as a private patient but have to wait 6 weeks. We will be on a children's ward with a play area.

What we were wondering is how vital is it that it is geared for kids, will DS be so uncomfortable it wont matter where he is or is it best to wait a bit longer and get the "kiddy" ward and nurses that deal with kids everyday. I'm sure both options would be fine but we have to make a decision and cant imagion just how awful this experience will be... help!

[~*Rebecca*~]

6 weeks isn't long to wait if it isn't an urgent case and him being so little will need nurses who are use d to kids and are happy for mum to be there all the time.

In a private hospital with other adults they might not be so understanding for a sick little boy who needs his mum.

I would wait and got the childrens hospital but if it is urgent then go the private.

[Lousmum]

Louis recently had grommets put in and his adenoids out. It was done in a private hospital that has no children's ward as such, but the staff were wonderful with him and everyone really had great techniques for dealing with kids. Admittedly he is 5, so a bit older, but still it was his first experience of hospital etc, and it went fantastically. He did have his own room, but it was only day surgery, but he did have to stay most of the day. He didn't need toys etc, as he was resting and tired after surgery, so lay in bed talking with Daddy and watching tv. We were able to stay with him the entire time (apart from the op of course) went all the way down to pre-op with him, Daddy stayed while they put him under, and then they came and got Daddy again when he woke up in recovery. Lots of private hospitals deal with kids regularly, even though they don't have dedicated children's wards.

I guess if your son has to stay in overnight or a couple of days, then it might be worth waiting for the children's hospital, but otherwise I'd say just go private and get it over with. It doesn't have to be an awful experience I was worried about L, but it all went smoothly and he handled it all much better than I thought he would.

[zoekisses]

My choice would be Option 2.. the reason bein children are very different to adults in physicality.

Yes there is the play area for children in a children's hospital also in a childrens ward. Other than that and more importantly is that the nurses have more of an intrest in childrens health and understand more about what your little one has been through and how to give him the best care for him. If worst comest to worst and there is an emergency the doctors are already there in a public hospital. As a private patient in a public hospital he will most likely have his own room and your doctor will still be looking after him.


Agreed the public hospitals are not as pretty as private ones but I feel a better optin for your little boy undergoing surgery As ther are risks no matter what you have done surgery is never risk free.

Hope you both do well.

[Peach_Bums_Mum]

If its not urgent, I would personally go with option 2 as it might be more reassuring to him to have children around him, with child friendly environment etc. And the WACH is such a fantastic hospital generally speaking. Houston loves it there for the play area, lol!

[~Melissa~]

I've had 2 private hospital experiences with my girls (grommets + tooth extraction - both day surgery) & also a 3 night stay in the public Womens & Childrens Hospital for rotavirus. Our experiences in the private hospitals (2 different hospitals) were both nothing short of amazing & the one at the womens & childrens was absolutely disgraceful. I actually found the nursing staff at the private hospitals to be much more caring of the special needs of a young child (& her anxious mother) undergoing surgery. The care we received at the W&CH was so bad that I organised to discharge Caitlyn against medical advice & wrote a letter of complaint once we were home.

I personally don't think the matter of toys being available is an issue at all If he's well enough to play with toys, then just bring a couple of favourites in from home.

These are just my personal experiences, but given the choice, I will choose a private hospital every time in the future.

[Lousmum]

Originally Posted by ~Melissa~

Our experiences in the private hospitals (2 different hospitals) were both nothing short of amazing & the one at the womens & childrens was absolutely disgraceful.

This is my experience of the WCH also I refuse to go there again.

[Peach_Bums_Mum]

Maybe it depends on who you get on the day - theres good and bad in all I guess. Ive heard both rave reviews of the WAHC and poor reviews, but my own experience has been fantastic, so thats all I can say about it

[Lousmum]

You're right Hannah Unfortunately I've had more than one bad experience with the WCH, so I can't recommend it at all.

[MadMel]

Are you talking about the WACH in Adelaide? I basically grew up in that childrens ward and I think it is a fantastic hospital and the nurses there were very nice.
I would go for option 2. 6 weeks isn't long to wait. It being a childrens ward is important. The nurses are kid friendly, you don't have to worry about his crying annoying the older patients and there will be something to keep him amused if he was like me and up and out of bed straight away.
I had my tonsils out when I was 4 and as soon as the anasthetic wore off I was up and playing. My sister however was in bed miserable for 3 days so it will effect each child differently.