https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/wards-and-departments/ward-and-admissions-information/safari-day-care/
Safari Day Care
Children and young people come to Safari Day Care for a clinic appointment, medications, tests or procedures, and go home the same day.
Safari consists of 16 beds and four individual cubicles (available for patients who are potentially infectious to others). Each child receiving treatment lasting over an hour will be given one of these beds.
There are three treatment rooms where the nurses are based and where the patients’ treatment will commence, and is open from 07.30 to 19.30, Monday to Friday.
Location
Safari Day Care telephone number: 020 7829 8833.
Safari nurses' station: 020 7405 9200 extension 1030.
If your child has any additional needs, please call in advance to let us know.
Who you will meet
The ward is staffed by nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, pharmacists, play specialists, health care assistants, housekeepers and administrators.
In addition, Doctors from all specialties can visit the ward, as well as psychologists, physiotherapists and social workers.
If you would like to speak to any of these professionals, please ask one of the nurses to arrange this for you. We cannot guarantee that they will be free to visit straight away as they also operate in other parts of the hospital.
Please note that Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is also a teaching hospital so you will see student nurses and doctors completing their training but they will be supervised at all times by a qualified member of staff.
The following members of staff will be available to help you during your stay on the ward:
- Matron: Mary Foo-Cabellero
- Ward Manager: Mariam Jaffrey
- Play Specialist: Claire Gillman
Conditions we treat
Safari Day Care specialises in treating children with haematology (blood disorders), oncology (cancer) and immunology conditions, as well as children pre- and post-bone marrow transplant (BMT).
Specialties
You can learn more about our clinical specialties by visiting:
Facilities
If your child requires a bed for their treatment on Safari, bed linen, blankets and towels are provided. We do not provide nappies for the children on Safari. We have a minimal supply should you need any in an emergency.
Please limit the amount of personal belongings you bring with you into hospital. There is no space on the ward to store any valuable items so we ask that you leave these at home where possible or keep these with you at all times in the hospital.
There is a kitchen on Safari where you can make tea or coffee, heat up snacks using a microwave and store food you have brought in from home in a fridge. Meals for parents and siblings are not provided by the ward but you are welcome to buy food from the hospital shop, Lagoon canteen or local shops.
Please be mindful that there will always be children on Safari who are ‘nil by mouth’ awaiting procedures. There is not a separate area for eating so we ask families to pull the curtains around their bed space if eating in a room with other children who are nil by mouth.
The playroom on Safari is open every day for toys, activities and crafts. We have a play specialist on Safari who will supervise the playroom and activities, but you are still responsible for watching your child, particularly when the play specialist is elsewhere. If siblings are visiting, you are responsible for their behaviour at all times. If your child has to stay in bed or is in isolation, you can borrow toys, games and DVDs from the playroom.
The play specialist is available to help with distraction for procedures in both outpatients and daycare.
Internet Wi-Fi access is available for parents. Please ask a member of staff for information.
Mobile phones can be used in the cubicle, the parents’ room and the corridor outside the ward. Using them elsewhere can interfere with our medical equipment, and can also be disruptive to other families. You can use your mobile phone around the hospital but only in designated mobile-friendly zones.
More information
For more information about facilities available for parents, family members, visitors and patients in the hospital, including the Chapel and multi-faith room, hospital school, activity centre and information on where you can eat or find facilities such as launderettes, please visit our Facilities A-Z page.
