In December 2010, paediatric care is being reconfigured throughout East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.
All in-patient beds for children will be centralised at the Royal Blackburn Hospital’s Children’s Medical Unit, and Deerplay Ward at Burnley General Hospital will close.
There will continue to be a Childrens Assessment Unit at Burnley called the Children’s Minor Illness Unit (CMIU), alongside the Urgent Care Centre, children will gain entry via the UCC waiting room.
It will be open from 10am to 8pm on weekdays, and from 12 noon to 8pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. To allow time for assessment of the children, the final time for acceptance of referrals will be 6pm each day.
The CMIU will be staffed by experienced paediatric nurses and paediatric registrars. A consultant paediatrician will be on call during opening hours.
Children should be referred to the Children’s Minor Illness Unit for assessment by a paediatrician and short period of observation only if their illness is minor. We will not be accepting seriously ill children.
Children who are unwell and require ambulance transfer or are expected to require an overnight stay should be referred to the Royal Blackburn Hospital Children’s Observation and Assessment Unit.
Nurses receiving referral callson the CMIU will require detailed information on the condition of each child. This should include basic observations including heart rate, respiratory rate, capillary refill time and if possible oxygen saturations. This will ensure children are referred to the right hospital and minimise unnecessary journeys between the two hospital sites.
To refer to the Children’s Minor Illness Unit at Burnley General Hospital, call 01282 804645
To refer to the Children’s Observation and Assessment Unit at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, call 01254 732624
