It is a 16-bed ward mainly treating neurology and surgical patients, although patients from all medical specialties can come to be treated here.
Bumblebee Ward
Level 5, Octav Botnar Wing
Harris International Patient Centre
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street
London
WC1N 3JH
Map
Bumblebee Ward: +44 (0)20 7829 8649
Inpatient administration: +44 (0)20 7829 8266
Service fax number: +44 (0)20 7829 8635
Case Manager: +44 (0)20 7813 8589 or bleep 0992 through switchboard on +44 (0)20 7405 9200
For urgent admissions outside of office hours please call the switchboard on +44 (0)20 7405 9200 and ask for the doctor on call for Bumblebee Ward.
You can learn more about our clinical specialties by visiting:
Staff on the ward
Bumblebee Ward is primarily run by our highly qualified nursing team but also includes consultants, clinical nurse specialists, physiotherapists, healthcare assistants, play specialists, psychologists, dieticians and housekeeping staff.
Your child’s consultant, supported by a team of specialist doctors, has overall responsibility for their treatment and care. They will review your child regularly and answer your questions.
The Harris International Private Patients Centre also has its own consultant-led, ward-based team of doctors who see patients every day. They act as a link between the child’s consultant, nurses and you. They will also be able to answer many of your questions.
Other key members of staff on the ward include:
- Judith Armstrong, Head of Nursing
- Alexandra Kennett, Ward Manager
- Lenora Cruz, Ward Administrator
- Bridget Callaghan, Lead Consultant for International and Private Patients
- Jane Amado, Clinicians' Assistant
Patient advocates are on hand to help all our parents and can be contacted by asking the nursing staff. They provide an invaluable link between families and our medical and nursing teams.
Greek and Arabic-speaking advocates who understand medical terms can help with translation. They can also offer general help and support settling into life at the Harris International Patient Centre and London generally.
The Trust also uses Language Line for families needing an interpreter. It is available 24 hours a day.
If you need to use Language Line please ask one of the nursing team for the contact details when you arrive.
Conditions we treat
Bumblebee Ward treats patients from all over the world with the most complicated, and often life-threatening, medical conditions.
Our patients range in age from newborn to 16 years old, although most are under eight.
Bumblebee is a multi-specialty ward but mainly treats neurology and surgical patients. For more detailed information on a specific area of expertise, please visit:
If you would like to speak to someone about your child's admission please contact our Case Manager on bleep 0992.
To access this service please call the main hospital switchboard on +44 (0)20 7405 9200 and ask the operator to bleep the number for you.
Ward information
The ward is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Bed allocation
We do our utmost to protect the privacy and dignity of your child at all times during their stay at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
Your child will be allocated a bed according to how their physical, psychological and social needs are best met, taking into consideration the needs of other children and young people on the ward at that time.
Please tell us if your child has a preference for being with other children of their own age and/or gender.
We will try to meet this request where possible. But please remember that sometimes requests cannot be met, for instance in high-dependency or intensive care areas.
The majority of beds on Bumblebee are in single cubicles.
Your child's safety will be our utmost priority at all times.
Facilities for parents
You are a valued member of your child’s healthcare team and we encourage you to take part in their care as much as possible while in hospital.
Only one parent is allowed to stay overnight at the bedside due to health and safety risks.
All rooms are en suite and have a parent’s bed close to the child’s bed to allow one parent to stay overnight. Linen is provided for both but we do ask parents to make their own beds.
If additional accommodation is required this can be arranged through the patient advocates.
Inpatient rooms
All inpatient rooms have en suite bathrooms with a shower. There are also several larger bathrooms on the ward, at least one of which has disabled access and hoists.
We can provide towels and there is a hairdryer in each room. We ask you to provide toiletries for your child and yourself.
There is plenty of room for storage and a coded safe for storing your valuables in all rooms.
Parents lounge and laundry
There is a special lounge for parents opposite the playroom on the ward. This sitting area has a television with channels in different languages and reading material including daily English and Arabic newspapers.
There are free laundry facilities including a washing machine and tumble dryer on Butterfly Ward (Level 4). We ask you not to wash or dry clothes in your child’s room.
Food for parents
Each ward has a parents' kitchen where food can be reheated only, not cooked from fresh.
Food in the refrigerator must be dated and labelled with the stickers provided. This helps us keep track of out-of-date items and make sure they are thrown away.
There are shops and cafes in the hospital for parents, children and visitors to buy refreshments, including snacks and hot meals. Raw food must not be cooked in the kitchen.
Free tea and coffee, biscuits, bread and cereal are all available. There is a vending machine on Butterfly Ward (Level 4) where you can buy bottled cold drinks.
Each room has its own television with remote control. We can receive various English-language channels plus Arabic and Greek channels.
Play and school
Bumblebee Ward has a play specialist who organises activities in the playroom and at the bedside.
The play specialist offers age-appropriate play that can help to prepare your child for the procedures they have in hospital.
Schoolteachers work with children at the discretion of nursing and medical staff.
Teaching is done on an individual basis, usually by the bedside, although there is a school in the hospital for children who are mobile and able to join a small group.
Regulations on the ward
The following are not allowed on Bumblebee Ward:
- Flowers are only allowed in individual rooms and not in the general ward area. Water in the vase can develop a bacterium that can cause infection in children.
- Latex balloons – due to potential allergic reactions.
If your child has either had recent contact with chickenpox or measles, or has chickenpox, measles, shingles, diarrhoea and vomiting, then please contact a member of the nursing team before arriving.
Brothers and sisters and young family members are welcome on the ward but they must be supervised at all times by an adult, particularly when in the playroom.
Last reviewed by Great Ormond Street Hospital: 25 November 2010
