Jupiter Ward (CW)
Introduction
We are a dedicated 12 bed unit for young people and adolescents aged 11–16 years, at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. We take admissions from A&E and transfers from other hospitals.
Nursing and support workers
Jupiter has a team of nurses and healthcare assistants who will look after your child, led by the Ward Sister. Day shifts are 8am–8:30pm and night shifts 8pm–8:30am.
Boys and girls are different!
For this reason we have separate areas for boys and girls to sleep in. We also have separate bathrooms, and a shower room. On occasion, we may have to change the bays around if we have too many boys or girls.
The lights are switched on at 8am and your child’s nurse will come round to wake them up. At night we expect all of our patients to be in bed no later than 10pm. The main lights will be switched off between 9–10pm. Patients may leave their bedside light on.
Meals
Breakfast is served from a trolley outside the kitchen. Patients can help themselves to toast and cereal. Their nurse will be able to help them with meals if needed.
Lunch and supper is chosen from a menu that will be brought round each morning. If you do wish to bring in any of your own food, then ask the nurse for a label and it may be placed in the fridge in the parents’ room.
- Breakfast: 7:30–9am
- Lunch: 12 noon–1pm
- Dinner: 5–6pm
Water jugs are filled and refreshed twice a day. There is also a water fountain and squash on the ward. The nurse will let you and your child know if they are not allowed to eat or drink.
School
If children are well enough, we expect all young people to attend the hospital school, which is on the first floor. If they cannot attend then the teachers can bring work to the bed side. If a child is with us for a while, the school will liaise with their own school for work to be brought in for them.
Please note that we inform school nurses of all admissions to hospital.
- School times: Mon–Fri, 10am–12 noon and 1:30–3:30pm
Parents/carers
The ward tries to promote independence with young people, and for this reason we do not encourage parents to be resident overnight. As a ward, we are provided with limited parents beds but we do have use of the patient hotel should you wish to stay.
There is a parent’s room on the ward, with tea and coffee facilities. If you put anything in the fridge, please ensure it is labelled; otherwise it may be thrown away.
Visitors
Please, no more than two visitors at a time. Parents may visit any time between 8am–10pm.
As we expect all children to be in school, we do not encourage other visitors until after 3:30pm, especially if school friends are coming to visit. Any visitor under the age of 16 years MUST be accompanied by an adult at all times, otherwise they will not be allowed on the ward. All other visitors must leave by 8pm.
TV/phone
The television service is available free of charge from 7am–7pm. After this time, you are able to purchase a TV card from the main reception for further viewing.
We ask patients to respect their fellow patients on the ward so if they are watching TV or listening to music we encourage them to ask for some headphones.
If you or your child has a mobile phone, please have it on silent while on the ward.
Youth worker
We have a dedicated youth worker for the ward who works three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and occasional Saturdays. The role of the youth worker is to provide age appropriate activities and support adolescents emotionally during their time in the hospital by building positive relationships with them. We also have a common room for Jupiter patients to use should they wish to play games or just have some time away from their bed space.
Youth forum
The youth forum called HYPE (Hospital Young People’s Executive) gives former and current patients aged between 12 to 17 an opportunity to meet every 6 to 8 weeks to have their say on the services they receive. Young people can also share their hospital experiences to help the staff understand what young people want and need.
The Youth Forum have undertaken various projects so far, such as taking an in house tours of the catering department in order to change the adolescents food menu, going on local trips, designing posters, and much more.
Going home
Medicines
If your child requires medication to take home your doctor will prescribed it and the pharmacy team will arrange for it to arrive to the ward. At times this process can take a few hours to safely arrange, therefore please be patient and bear in mind your nurse will be following up the progress on this on your behalf.
Car parking
We provide reduced car parking rates for parents of children who are inpatients to £10 for 24 hours. Please ask your nurse for a voucher.