Abstract

This presentation will describe critical issues to consider when a child is admitted and especially re-admitted to the paediatric ward. Clinical examples will be presented.  These will include discussion of Pervasive Avoidance Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS), fictitious  illness. The essential creation of a multidisciplinary team to reflect upon the body’s illness and the messages it conveys about the child’s genes and  relationships with the family and others  is crucial to a well-functioning paediatric unit.  There will be a delineation of some important interventions in various international paediatric teams. The shared training for the multidisciplinary team of doctors, psychologists and nurses  from the Italian Hospital in Argentina and the Bristol Report regarding the importance of a coordinator of integrating specialist interventions with complex illnesses will be discussed. Non-negotiables for the child’s hospitalisation  alongside family observations will be described. Enabling an ill child to progress developmentally during long-stay hospitalisations will be described using experiences in Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London. The link between the psychiatric team and the paediatric team will also be considered.