By Lucy Ashton
Staff at the Royal Hospital for Children have been praised for their commitment to creating an environment centred around children’s rights.
The recognition comes after an official visit from Bruce Adamson, Children’s and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland, who was impressed with the ongoing work at the site.
Across medical staff, Play Team, the Family Support Team and Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity team, the Commissioner noted a high level of dedication to ensuring the rights of the child was at the heart of the work being done, as well as a real community support feeling throughout the hospital.
He said: “The visit has been absolutely fantastic, there is a clear commitment from everyone we have met, to taking a children’s rights approach to the work, that shines through, and that is based on decades of work by the children’s rights group and I think that how that manifests is really interesting.
“Everywhere you go you have got reflections directly of children’s voices and then, examples of where those voices have led to change.
“I think the impact of that on the health outcomes of children and the experience of children is really key. In human rights terms the focus of health is the highest attainable standard, but the holistic approach to children’s rights is really key here so that play is built in with incredible play specialists weaved through every aspect of the hospital.
“Play is obviously a right in itself but the benefits of a play-based approach on mental and physical health, to being able to access education, to being able to link in to respect for family life have a clear impact on having better outcomes for children, so the way that’s weaved through is really important.
“Another thing that has really impressed me is how many people we have spoken to today talked about the importance of connection of community and family within the hospital community and really clear lines of communication and strong collaborative approach, which is obviously so important for the complex job that is going on here
“We are talking about children who have the most complex health needs, so that clear commitment of values based leadership is absolutely essential and really impressive.”
The Royal Hospital for Children’s Rights of the Child group is made up of staff from across multiple departments and ensures the European Association for Children in Hospital (EACH)’s charter is implemented across the hospital, with the support of Children’s Health Scotland, a member of EACH.
Jamie Redfern, Director for Women’s and Children’s Health for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “We were so pleased to welcome the Children’s and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and I would like to thank all of our staff who have worked so hard to achieve this excellent feedback.
“With this week being Children’s Mental Health Week, we are reflecting on the ongoing work we do each day to ensure the right of the child is at the heart of everything we do.
“The work of our Rights of the Child Group is another excellent example of how our dedicated staff at the Royal Hospital for Children work tirelessly to provide the highest standard of care to our patients and their families.”
Bruce talking to staff at the Royal Hospital for Children.