Shanghai hospital opens first ICU that allows parents to sleep over
The Shanghai Children's Medical Center has opened China's first children's intensive care unit that allows parents to stay with their sick kids.
The section has 10 beds for families with children in a relatively stable condition and a strong desire to have someone stay with them, the hospital said on Monday.
"In our hospital, we are promoting family-centered nursing and caring," said Dr Ren Hong, director of the intensive medicine department.
"Parents are the best company for sick children. But such companionship is very difficult to give in intensive care.
"So we are introducing the trial."
Medics even organized a small birthday celebration on Saturday for a 5-year-old boy, who was accompanied by his mother.
A medical staffer takes care of the 5-year-old boy at the intensive care unit section, which allows parents' accompany.
The boy celebrates his birthday with the mother in the ward.
"For children in stable or recovering process, their close family members' involvement is an effective measure to boost their recovery. It is also the future of pediatric intensive medicine," Ren said.
In addition to the ICU section, Shanghai Children's Medical Center also adopted Western concept of opening family ward for sick newborn babies without critical or serious condition.
It is the first hospital in the city to launch such wards. Now it has 12 beds and receives families with non-serious babies within three months old.
In the ward, parents also can learn from medics how to take care of their newborn babies.
"Medical service for newborn babies consists of treatment and nursing, which plays a more important role. How to observe their children and what kinds of symptoms are alarming are young parents should learn," said Dr Bei Fei, director of the hospital's neonatology department.
