Royal Preston Hospital provides care for children from a wide catchment area across Lancashire. Ward 8 Children’s Ward is funded for 30 beds but they are escalated to above 35 patients on a regular basis due to demand. This has created a shortage of available parent beds and they have asked us to supply some Readybed Sleeper Chairs.
It is beneficial for children to have 24 hour parental support during their stay in hospital as it reduces the stress upon them leading to quicker recovery and discharge. Parents are encouraged to stay with their child whenever circumstances allow so there is generally a need for up to 35 parent beds.
Currently there are only 10 Readybeds and 18 very old camp beds available leaving the rest of the parents to spend the night sat up in a chair. The Ward Manager has asked us to provide extra Readybed Sleeper Chairs and we have initially agreed to fund 5.
