Intensive Care Unit Children (CIC)

Team

The CIC admits children aged 0 to 18. It has a team of doctors and nurses, supported by care assistants and a secretary. The team collaborate with other medical specialists and support services such as medical educational care, physiotherapy, social work, spiritual care, and dietetics.

The medical team consists of paediatric intensive care doctors (paediatric intensivists), fellows (intensivists in training), and junior doctors. The treatment approach for your child will be determined during the daily bedside visit. As a parent, you are invited to be present at this visit. You will then be able to hear what the team are considering and you can contribute yourself by sharing how you feel your child is doing. You can also ask questions about the treatment. The visit is not intended for an in-depth discussion with parents; for that, you can make a separate appointment. If your child is in a two-patient room, we will ask you to leave the room when there is a bedside visit to the neighbouring patient. This is for privacy reasons. Noise-cancelling headphones may sometimes be used to ensure privacy.

If your child will remain in the CIC for a longer period, he/she will be assigned two “EVVs” ("nurses with primary responsibility"). Together with the doctor in charge, they play a coordinating role in the overall care for your child. The EVVs will often actually care for your child, but not necessarily always.

There is a board behind the secretary's desk where you can see which nurse and doctor are caring for your child and who the EVVs are.

Contact

Contact persons can call us day and night for information about your child. However, we ask that you don't call between 7.30am and 8am, 3pm and 3.30pm, and 10.45pm and 11.15pm, because that’s when one shift of nurses is handing over to the next shift. Please understand that we can’t always answer the phone quickly if things are busy. You should then call again later.

Transfer 

We will transfer your child to the children's ward when there is no longer a need for our intensive care and monitoring. We will try to let you know about the transfer as soon as possible. At every transfer, there is a verbal and written handover by the nurses and the doctors so that the care can be properly coordinated. If your child is in the CIC for a longer period, there will be a handover meeting a few days before the (expected) transfer at which the CIC team will update the children's ward team about any specific care considerations. A transfer folder with detailed information is available at the CIC.

Aftercare

If your child has been admitted to the CIC for five days or more, an intensive care nurse from the "Aftercare" group will meet you in the children's ward three to five days after the transfer. If necessary, you will also receive a follow-up phone call three months after your child has been discharged from the children’s ward (if necessary). This is to help you and your child cope with his or her time in the CIC.

Visits by parents or carers 

Visiting hours for parents/carers are from 8am to 12 noon and from 2pm to 10pm. These extended visiting hours mean you can visit at a time that's convenient for you.

Visiting is not possible between 12 noon and 2pm, because we want that to be a quiet time for the children. Parents/carers may remain with their child during the quiet time, but then we ask you not to leave the child's room, to keep things quiet, and to let your child rest.

If the situation calls for it, it is possible for one parent/carer to stay overnight with the child ("rooming-in"). (See the information folder about Rooming-in in the Children's Intensive Care Unit.)

Eating in your child's room is only permitted during mealtimes when your child is consuming a meal.

Other visitors

One of the parents/carers must always be present when other family members and friends are visiting, with a maximum of three visitors (including parents/carers). To ensure that the sick child can rest, visits by people other than parents/carers are limited to 30 minutes. We ask that other visitors leave the ward by 8pm at the latest so as to ensure peace and quiet for the patients.

Other visitors can use the Intensive Care Unit's general waiting room (H-04). If there are more than six visitors, we ask that they make use of the general facilities at the “Leidse Plein” area on the second floor. You can also use the Roof Garden, which is part of the Ronald McDonald Living Room (J-06-048). Adults are welcome there and your child's brothers and sisters can play there (accompanied by an adult). In consultation with the volunteers present, childminding is possible for up to an hour. Check the information board at the CIC entrance for the times and to see what activities are planned.

Brothers and sisters over one year old may come to visit the patient. They must already have had chicken pox, must not have a cold, and must have been vaccinated according to the Dutch National Immunisation Programme (see https://rijksvaccinatieprogramma.nl/english). If you aren’t sure about this, you should talk to the nurse.

Parent participation

Parents/carers can help with washing their child in the morning between 8am and 9am. Please arrange this with the nurse the day before.

Parents/carers will often be allowed to stay with their child during care or treatment, including during serious and critical situations. In the case of procedures that need to take place under sterile conditions, we ask that you leave the room. The doctor or nurse may sometimes find it necessary for you to leave the ward for another reason. We will discuss this with you, and we count on your cooperation.

Facilities

Ronald McDonald rooms

There is a parents' lounge at the entrance to the CIC where parents/carers can spend some quiet time (J4-13). This is part of the Ronald McDonald Living Room. Please show consideration for one another and also leave this area neat and tidy. Please bring in only as little perishable food as possible, and place food in the fridge in the living room (marked with the date and your name). The CIC also has a Ronald McDonald conversation/parents room (J4-64). This room is used for meetings with parents. It can also be used by the parents/carers of a single patient for a bit of quiet time. The Ronald McDonald rooms are maintained daily by volunteers who, among other things, oversee that they remain hygienic.

See also Ronald McDonald Living Room Leiden

Ronald McDonald House Leiden

The Ronald McDonald House is a ten-minute walk from the LUMC. It enables parents of seriously ill children to stay close to their child. You can rent a room in the house while your child is hospitalised. It’s also possible for up to two brothers or sisters to stay there. The nurse can tell you more about this.

See also Ronald McDonald House Leiden

Lockers

Lockers are available in the corridor outside the CIC where you can store your belongings safely.

Expressing breastmilk

Mothers of our patients can express breastmilk by their child’s bed. A separate lactation room (breast pump room) is also available (J4-43)(See also Expressing breastmilk by your child’s bed at the Children's Intensive Care Unit).

Parking

You can park your car in the LUMC carpark. If you need to park there for more than 4 hours, you can take advantage of the discount scheme. The nurses can tell you more about this.

Rules of behaviour

We expect correct behaviour from both our staff and visitors. We will show you respect, and we ask the same from you.We understand that hospitalisation can be stressful for patients and their family and that things do not always go the way you would like. You can discuss this with the CIC staff. We do not accept verbal or physical aggression. in the event of an incident, we will if necessary call in security. In that case, you may be removed from the ward and possibly banned from entering.

Hygiene rules in the Intensive Care Unit 

Intensive care patients are often seriously ill and have reduced immunity to infection. The bacteria that cause these infections are becoming increasingly immune to commonly used antibiotics, making the infections harder to treat. We therefore ask you to disinfect hands with hand sanitiser when entering and leaving the patient's room.

In some cases, it is necessary to take additional protective measures for patients with a (suspected) viral or bacterial infection, so as to minimise the risk of spreading the infection. These isolation measures are indicated by a coloured instruction card at the door to the patient's room. Additional hygiene measures then apply to staff and also visitors. Ask the nurse to explain which measures apply to you.

Tell the nurses if you or someone close to you has (or may have) something infectious. They can advise you about measures to protect patients in the CIC.

Flowers and plants are not permitted in the CIC.

Clothes, toys, cuddly toys, music, diary

It's nice for your child to have familiar items around them such as a favourite cuddly toy, other toys, a dummy, or music. Because of the need for hygiene, we ask you to bring in only clean, washable cuddly toys and to wash them once a week and whenever they are visibly dirty.

Clothing that you bring in should be easy to put on and take off, for example wrap-around rompers for babies or other clothing that does not need to be put on over the head. Your child will be able to wear their own clothes again as soon as that is possible.

We have special diaries available for parents/carers so they can write about their experience and feelings. The nurses can tell you more about this. If you wish, our nurses can also write something in the diary.

The CIC has three IPads available; you can ask the nurse about them.

Monitoring equipment

There is a monitor and a number of other devices by each patient’s bed. These are to monitor your child and provide any necessary support for important bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Don't be alarmed by all the various signals these devices may give – flashing lights, beeps, and alarm signals. We will immediately notice these signals, distinguish between real and false alarms, and take any necessary action.

Each child is also monitored by a camera above the bed. The images from the camera are shown on a monitor behind the nurses’ desk, so additional monitoring takes place there too. These images are not recorded or saved.

If necessary, monitoring may also mean that the sound from the patient’s room is amplified via a loudspeaker in the corridor and at the nurses' desk. That means that any conversations you have can then also be heard outside the room. These conversations are not recorded. If sound monitoring has been switched on, the red lamp will be on in the corridor over the door to the room.

Narcosis and agitation 

Your child’s condition often requires him/her to be given medication to calm him/her down or keep him/her asleep. This is necessary on the one hand to allow treatment and on the other for his/her comfort. The nurse can tell you whether your child is awake or sound asleep and better left alone.

To prevent your child from harming themself during a period of agitation, we can if necessary make use of measures to restrict freedom of movement, for example wristbands. This reduces the risk of your child falling out of bed or pulling out wires and tubing. If you object to this, please talk to the doctor or nurse.

Other disciplines

Medical educational staff

The educational staff are from the Willem-Alexander Children's Hospital and have an important role in supporting children during their stay in the hospital. The CIC may call them in if necessary, for example if a child is admitted for a lengthy period of time.

Dietician

If your child cannot be fed in the ideal way, a dietician will be called in if necessary. The dietitian will advise on improving the child’s nutritional condition. taking into account the child's eating habits and wishes.

If a baby is being breast-fed, it is (usually) possible to continue with this, if necessary using a feeding tube. Mothers can make use of the CIC’s facilities for expressing breast milk. The nurse can tell you more about this.

Spiritual care

This service is provided by a team of spiritual carers. You can turn to them with thoughts and questions of a philosophical nature, regardless of your religion or worldview. They can offer you attention, support, and guidance.

They can also put you in touch with a spiritual carer from outside the hospital with the desired worldview or religion. If you wish, we can arrange a meeting with a spiritual carer for you.

Facilities

You can find information about facilities at the LUMC at  www.lumc.nl. There are all kinds of facilities at the “Leidse Plein” area on the second floor. These include the patient service desk, catering facilities, childcare, a quiet and prayer room, and a number of shops.

Questions, comments, and complaints  

We work all the time to improve the quality of care and satisfaction of our patients and their family and loved ones. The CIC therefore takes part in internal and external quality surveys, improvement projects, and registration systems. In some cases, that involves exchanging and storing patient data. We do that very carefully and according to the applicable rules on privacy.

For example, we take part in continuous Paediatric Intensive Care Evaluation (PICE) and the ongoing parent satisfaction survey. You are not obliged to participate in this, so please let us know if you object.

We do everything we can to ensure that you and your child are satisfied with the treatment and with how our staff deal with you while your child is in the CIC. If you have any comments or complaints, please tell us and we will try to find a satisfactory solution.

If you have a complaint, you can also contact the hospital's complaints committee. To do so, please contact the patient service desk at “Leidse Plein” (2nd floor), phone number 071 526 2989. If you have any questions, we will be only too happy to help.

Adress and phone numbers

Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum

Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden

LUMC Phone number: 071 526 9111

Postal address

Children's Intensive Care Unit (CIC)

LUMC Intensive Care Kinderen, J-04-Q, Postbus 9600, 2300 RC Leiden

Route number 605

Phone number: 071 526 1677*

*within the LUMC, the last 5 figures

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