Entry Level COP6

COP 6: Documented procedures guide the care of pediatric patients as per the scope of services.

1.   The hospital has defined and displayed the services it can provide for pediatrics by competent medical staff trained in paediatrics.

2.   All clinical staff working in the pediatric department shall receive special training in the care of the new born and pediatrics.

3.   Care of neonatal patients shall be provided in accordance to IAP / WHO guidelines. Pediatric and Neonatal patient’s assessments shall include detailed nutritional growth, psychosocial and immunization assessment.

4.   Parents / Guardians shall be educated at the time of admission that protection and security of pediatric patients rest with the parents / guardians who stay with the patient. Security of Neonates shall rest with the NICU staff as long as they remain in the NICU and with the ICU in Charge for Pediatric patients during their stay at that unit.

5.   Children’s family members are educated about the importance of breast feeding, weaning, rooming-in, nutrition, immunization, and safe parenting and this shall be documented in the medical record of the patient.

Clinical Staff at pediatrics department shall ensure that they maintain pediatric assessment, diagnosis and treatment skills (as appropriate) in accordance with their training.

Staff shall manage pediatric patient appropriate to their skills, training and scope of practice. If the management of pain for a particular paediatric patient is beyond them, they should promptly consider seeking advice or the attendance of a clinician with more advanced skills.

General Instructions: Recognition of the seriously ill or injured child involves the identification of a number of key signs affecting the child’s airway, breathing, circulatory or neurological systems. If these signs are present, the child must be regarded as critical. Then the staff will follow the assessment, diagnosis and treatment regimens as per procedures:

1)     Medical Emergencies in Children

2)     High Risk New born babies

3)     Trauma Emergencies in Children

4)     Anaphylaxis and Allergic reactions in Children

5)     Asthma in Children

6)     Convulsions in Children

7)     Hyperbilirubinemia & Glycaemia Emergencies in Children

8)     Overdose and Poisoning in Children

9)     Child Basic/advanced Life Support

10)  New born Life Support

11)  Foreign Body Airway Obstruction

12)  Dealing with the Death of Children including sudden infant death syndrome

Management of Pain in Children:

1)   Analgesia shall be normally introduced in an incremental way, considering timeliness, effectiveness and potential adverse events.

2)   Pain management should always include the non-pharmacological methods of treatment as a starting point and may be administered by all attending staff.

3)   However it may be apparent from the assessment that a stronger analgesia is necessary from the outset and, therefore the appropriately trained staff would need to administer it.

4)   Non pharmacological methods include psychological, dressings and splintage. (Necessary restraints without any harm).

5)   Pharmacological methods include topical analgesia, oral analgesia, and inhalational analgesia, parenteral and enteral analgesia. These methods are administered by appropriately trained staff.