We have two Assessment Units, PAU (Paediatric Assessment Unit) situated at the Heartlands site and CAU (Children’s Assessment Unit) based at Good Hope hospital.
An Assessment Unit is a special place in the hospital where children go to be diagnosed. A diagnosis is just the decision of a doctor about what’s wrong with you. The Assessment Units are there for children to wait to see a doctor.
First, though, children see a nurse. The nurse will put together some of the information the doctor will need to decide what’s wrong. The Assessment Unit does everything it can to make sure your wait is short, and your time in hospital as short as possible. But the most important thing is to get the diagnosis right.
Sometimes, you might wait a while – the Assessment Unit can be busy with many children all needing to see a doctor. You might also be asked to go to the ‘observation bay’, an area where doctors and nurses can keep an eye on you before deciding whether to send you home or to elsewhere in the hospital.
That decision might be based on all kinds of tests – from blood tests to X-Rays. It might require some observation or not, and it might end with you being transferred to ward 15 or 16, or sent home. If you’re sent home, the Assessment Unit will stay open to you if you don’t continue to get better.
The Assessment Units exists to allow children to see a doctor and get diagnosed – the most important thing is that we know what is wrong, so we know how to make it better. This may take a while, but everyone here is committed to helping you and your family.
