Helpful information for your child's stay

We know that coming to hospital can be worrying for any family; this booklet has been put together to answer some common questions you might have and give you more information about our services and support. When preparing for your child’s visit, make sure you read the below and let us know if you have any questions.

Visiting hospital can be unsettling at any age. For a child, the idea of going to hospital may seem a little scary. We’ve listed some things you can do to help you both feel prepared.

It’s helpful to learn more about the hospital, your child’s medical condition and the treatment. Encourage your child to ask any questions they might have and never hesitate to say “I don’t understand” or to ask what a word means. Our friendly team are here to help you.

Some common questions you may want to ask:

• What should I tell my child about the procedure?
• What will happen immediately before the procedure?
• How long will the procedure take?
• Can I stay with my child during the procedure?
• Where will I wait during the procedure?
• Will I be told how my child is doing during the procedure?
• When will I be able to see my child after the procedure?
• Will my child be in pain?
• How long will my child stay in hospital?
• How long will it be before my child can go back to school and play?
• Where can I find more information on my child’s condition and procedure?
• Can I stay overnight with my child while they are in hospital?

Family centred care is at the heart of everything we do to improve your child’s health.

• Choose a quiet time to talk to your child about their hospital visit, using a calm and relaxed tone of voice.
• Tell your child that they will be going to hospital for an operation, test or procedure, and let them know that you feel this is the right thing to do. If you feel at ease, your child is usually able to sense this and react in the same way.
• Use honest and simple explanations that fit your child’s age and level of understanding.
• Ask your child questions to make sure they understand what you have said. Below are some age guidelines you might want to use:
  • Under the age of four: Consider telling them one or two days before going to hospital. At this age, a child will likely react to your feelings, so it is more important to take the time to focus on preparing yourself.
  • Five to seven years: Children at this age have a better understanding of time, so you might want to tell them three to five days prior. Encourage role play activities with your children like ‘playing doctors’ so that they become familiar with what they might experience in hospital.
  • Older than seven years of age: A child is able to understand the reason for a hospital stay so you may want to tell them a week before going to the hospital so they have plenty of time to ask questions.
• You know your child best. Be sure to tell your child’s doctors, nurses and other caregivers about your child’s personality and past experiences with healthcare. For example, if your child is especially afraid of blood tests, staff can often find ways to make the experience less upsetting.
• Involve your child in organising and packing. Encourage your child to bring something familiar to hospital, a favourite toy or item of clothing can be of great help.
• Encourage them to bring their favourite toy or blanket and pajamas to keep them comfortable.
• Try not to make promises you can’t keep. For example, don’t tell your child that nothing will hurt or that there won’t be any blood tests if you are unsure.
• Tell your child how they might feel. For example, you may want to explain they will not hear, see or feel anything during their operation. You could try saying something like ‘the doctor will give you a special sleep medicine called anaesthesia before the operation.’
• Let your child know that it is okay to feel many different ways about going to hospital. For example, excited, curious, worried or frustrated.
• Please ensure your child is accompanied by a responsible adult support person whilst in hospital and for discharge. This may be yourself, your partner, or another family member or guardian. This is to ensure your child is kept comfortable and informed of all procedures that may happen during their time in hospital.

To help make your child’s stay as pleasant as possible, it is important that you bring the following items with you on the day of your child’s admission:

• All information from your child’s doctor including letters, requests and a consent form if you have this.
• All of your child’s current medications in their original packaging with patient label attached. You will need to discuss your child’s current medications, including over the counter medications with their specialist doctor, so they can determine if your child will need to stop taking them before their hospital admission.
• All x-rays and scans relating to your child’s current medical condition.
• Private health insurance details, Medicare card, pharmacy card, health benefits card, as needed.
• Your credit card or other method of payment.
• Comfortable clothing. If your child is staying overnight also bring sleepwear, pyjamas and toiletries (i.e. toothbrush, toothpaste).
• Any personal items your child would normally use such as prescription glasses, or comfort items like toys, teddy bears, or blankets.
• Comfortable non-slip shoes that fit your child well.
• A small amount of money for incidentals.*
• Please bring headphones or personal electronics. They can help distract your child from noises in the room from the medical equipment. Mater Children’s Private Brisbane does have games, televisions, and game consoles available for patients to use.

* It is recommended that you leave any valuable items at home. While every effort is made to ensure you have a safe and comfortable stay at Mater, we cannot be held responsible for the loss or theft of any personal items. 

Preadmission guidelines

Prior to admission you will be sent a preadmission letter with your child’s admission date and time, plus some paperwork to complete on their behalf. You might also need to bring any test request forms from your specialist (e.g. blood test or x-ray referral).

One of our friendly admission team members will call you approximately three days before your child’s admission for an over the phone assessment and to check some personal details. This is a good time to ask any questions you might have, or to let us know of any special requirements your child may have during your stay. The admission team may transfer your call to one of our nurses for further discussion if needed.

On the day

On the day of your child’s admission please present to Mater at the time shown on your child’s pre-admission letter.

Admission time is determined by the doctor and anaesthetist. this allows for the doctor and anesthetist to review, and for the nursing staff to complete, an admission history and tour of the area. The wait time is dependent on your child’s specific procedure time. Our nurses will keep you updated on your child’s progress throughout the procedure.

Please note: The requested time relates to your child’s admission only, this is not your child’s operation or procedure time. It is important that you and your child arrive at this time to allow for any necessary pre-operative requirements.

Hospital fees and charges

Hospital charges can include accommodation, use of theatre, prostheses and essential pharmacy items for your child’s care. Charges can vary depending on their treatment required, length of stay, prosthetics provided, accommodation category and the type of health insurance you hold.

Hospital charges do not include non-hospital or medical provider costs such as your child’s specialist, anaesthetist, pathology and x-ray. Additional charges may also include physiotherapy and the hire of physical aids.

All known hospital costs (other than those covered by contracted insurers) are payable on admission. They may be paid in cash (Australian dollars), by most credit cards, money orders or cheques.

For your convenience, an account estimate will be discussed with you before or at the end of your child’s admission, indicating anticipated out of pocket expenses for hospital charges. It is important to note this is an estimate only.

Private health insurance

If you have private health insurance please speak to your health fund prior to your child’s admission to hospital to ensure you understand your level of cover. 

Important questions to ask your health fund are:

• Am I covered for the procedure at Mater Children’s Private Brisbane?
• What level of cover do I have?
• Does my health fund cover allied health expenses?
• Does my health fund cover all medication expenses?
• Do I have to contribute to the hospital costs?
• Do I have an excess or co-payment?
• Have I served all waiting periods for my health fund?

Travel insurance

If you have travel insurance, hospital policy requires you to pay for your child’s hospital stay prior to admission unless approval has been given by Mater prior to admission.

Self-insured

If you are self-insured (paying the whole hospital account yourself), you will need to contact Mater to obtain an estimate before your child’s admission. Self-insured patients are required to pay for all estimated hospital costs on admission.

To assist us in providing an accurate estimate, you need to provide as much information as possible about your child’s stay. This would include; the CMBS (procedure) numbers for your proposed theatre procedure/s, prosthetic items to be used (such as screws or mesh) and proposed length of stay. Your treating doctor can assist with this information.

Estimates provided are based on the information available at the time and are subject to change. If any aspect of your child’s stay changes due to medical necessity, for example, your doctor performs a different or modified procedure, the doctor uses additional or different prosthetics or the length and type of accommodation changes, this will affect the cost.

Mater acknowledges consumer consultation in the development of this patient information.

Mater Doc Num: PI-CLN-470046

Last modified 30/4/2020.
Consumers were consulted in the development of this patient information.
Last consumer engagement date: 01/5/2019

For further translated health information, you can visit healthtranslations.vic.gov.au/ supported by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services that offers a range of patient information in multiple languages.