Nightingale Day Unit

Nightingale Day Unit cares for children and young people  having day case procedures.

If your child has any additional needs, please call in advance to let us know. We provide a snack box to every child after their procedure – please tell us about any special dietary requirements.

There are 18 post-operative and post-anaesthetic beds. Nine of these beds are in cubicles – these will mainly be used for children who either have an infection or need to be protected from infection.

These cubicles have their own en-suite bathrooms and our system for TV and films, which you can also use to access the internet, as well as Wi-Fi so you can connect your own device.

The rest of the beds are in shared bays – each bed space can closed off for privacy – with its own accessible toilet. The bed spaces also have our system for TV and films.

Nightingale Day Unit is on Level 3 of the new Premier Inn Clinical Building (PICB), part of the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Nightingale Day Unit is mainly run by our team of nurses and healthcare assistants, who work closely with the doctors to care for your child. Other staff who work on the ward include theatre staff, a play specialist and housekeeping staff.

The following members of staff will be available to help you during your stay on the ward:

• Matron: Claire Waller 
• Ward Manager: Philomena Cosgrove
• Team Leaders for Recovery Area: Ivona Ojo and Yvonne Hambley
• Play Worker: Koli Begun
  

Children and young people stay on Nightingale Day Unit before and after operations or procedures with an anaesthetic and go home the same day. Unfortunately, only two adults will be allowed to come into the anaesthetic and recovery room with your child. If you cannot arrange child care, one adult will have to supervise your other children at all times.

Most of the children and young people coming to Nightingale Day Unit are being treated by the following specialties – information about specific conditions they treat is available on their specialty pages

• Specialist Neonatal and Paediatric Surgery (SNAPS) information for parents and visitors

• Urology information for parents and visitors

• Ear, nose and throat information for parents and visitors

• Plastic Surgery information for parents and visitors

• Ophthalmology information for parents and visitors

• Orthopaedic and spine surgery information for parents and visitors

• Dermatology information for parents and visitors

• Rheumatology information for parents and visitors

• Interventional radiology information for parents and visitors

• Neurology information for parents and visitors

• Neurosurgery information for parents and visitors

• Dental and maxillofacial information for parents and visitors

• Cleft lip and palate information for parents and visitors

• Gastroenterology information for parents and visitors

You are a valued member of your child‘s healthcare team and we encourage you to take part in his or her care as much as possible while in hospital.

Meals are not provided for parents, but food and drink can be bought from various places within the hospital and local area. You may want to bring in your own snacks and drinks but please do not sit in the ‘no food and drink’ zones within the ward for children and young people fasting before surgery. 

Nightingale Day Unit also has a play room supervised by our play specialist during office hours but you will be responsible for your child and their brothers and sisters at other times.

For mothers who wish to breastfeed, we provide a dedicated room. We also provide the equipment to 'express' breast milk so your child can be fed through a nasogastric tube, if necessary.