The inpatient paediatric wards 15 and 16 are wards for children aged 0 – 16 years who require assessment, monitoring or treatment for over 24 hours, with a wide variety of conditions. We work with specialities across the trust to ensure we are providing children with the best care.
The service runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Children can be referred to the inpatient wards through the following routes:
- direct admissions from Emergency Departments (EDs)
- direct planned referrals from home
- direct admissions from the Paediatric assessment unit
- transfers from other hospitals
- step down care form the Paediatric high dependency unit
What to expect during your visit
On arrival to one of the inpatient wards, a nurse will aim to carry out an initial set of observations within 15 minutes of admission, you will be settled into your bed space and your nurse will introduce themselves. We will discuss the plan of care with you.
Our team comprises of nurses, doctors, healthcare assistants and allied health professionals. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is a teaching hospital and care may be provided by nursing and medical students. You will be seen by a consultant or registrar each morning after 09:00 on ward round and a discussion on the plan of care will continue.
We work closely with colleagues in Physiotherapy and Dietetics, and children will also be supported by our play team and James Brindley school during their stay. We have a playroom and an adolescent room where young people can have time out from a busy ward, listen to music, play a game or watch TV. We have resources to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Across all our ward areas, we work with our colleagues in the play team to make your child’s stay as comfortable as possible.
Catering
Please ask us if you need assistance with nutrition and hydration while you are with us and ask to see the children’s menu for patient catering information. Please inform us if your child requires an allergy menu.
Staffing
The nurse to patient ratio in the inpatient ward area is 1:4. This means that there is one nurse for every four patients.
Patients on discharge
When treatment is complete and your child is assessed as safe to go home, you will be discharged. This does mean this may happen at any time of the day or night.
A discharge letter will be given, which explains:
- why the child came to hospital
- what treatment was given
- a plan for further treatment & medication at home if required
- plan for any follow up care
Contact us
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your child’s care please ask to speak to the ward manager, on-call senior nurse or consultant on duty.
Last reviewed: 10 July 2026