Hospital Accomodation

TOMS_MUM

I wonder if any one can point me in thr right direction.
My 17 year old son is due to go into Leeds Hospital in the near future for open heart surgery.
The problen we have is we live a hundred miles from the hospital so I want to know if there is likely to be any accomodation for me to stay over night. Or any help towards cost to stay near by (Travel Lodge etc)
I know whilst he was under sixteen this was never a problem. But I just don't know where to enquire about it.
Thanks for reading.

p00hsticks

Sorry to hear your son is ill, and I hope he will have a speedy recovery.

If you mean Leeds General Infirmary, there are two family rooms there for parents with sick children, but it doesn;t state at what agethey no longer consider a patient a 'child'.

http://www.rmhc.org.uk/where/rmhc_family_rooms/leeds/#family_rooms

I'd suggest giving them a call to see if they can help, or if not if they can suggest someone who can. The contact number given is 0113 2432799

FBaby

I would first speak to the hospital and see if they would agree for you to use this room. If not, you can try the PCT. If he was referred there by a specialist, rather than you chosing to go there (likely it was a consultant decision from what you have written), they might agree to consider you an escort and agree to it. Finally, if this does not work, you can try social services. No matter what, make sure you do all this before you actually go and pay for a hotel as it is highly unlikely either the PCT or Social Services would agree to reimburse.

TOMS_MUM

Cheers for all the info. Thats the problem I have we are not sure if he is classed as a child or an adult. but even if he is classed as an adult. I can't imagine him being able to cope alone in this situation.
Looks like a phone call is in order just don't like to trouble them.

MCLF

Hi,
I hope all goes smoothly for your son, am sure this is very stressful for you.

The hospital will have a PALS Department. They may or may not be able to give you advice. In my experience, at one hospital they were brilliant and sorted out a tricky problem for me. At the neighbouring hospital they were as much use as a chocolate teapot and I had to sort everything out myself.
I would definitely try ringing them.

Another source you can try is the Office which handles payments within the hospital. It's often called the "General Office" but its name is different from one hospital to another. They authorised a private taxi for my husband once, as there was no other way for him to get there on a Sunday. I realise that several overnight stays cost a lot more than a taxi, but if they don't have the authority to agree to pay, they may tell you the procedure.

It might also be worth phoning the British Heart Foundation for advice.

Finally, if the first person you speak to says no help can be given, phone a different department and don't give up. There can be ways and means that they're unaware of.

GlasweJen

I had a similar problem, at 17 you're considered an adult and the hospital won't help parents stay overnight. All funding for this sort of service goes out the window at roughly 14 years old.

You could ask for the family room but these will be prioritised for families with younger kids, regardless of what treatment is more serious.

We've had some luck before with Ronald McDonald Houses who are a charity and they funded a room for my mum when I was in hospital in Dundee (I was 16 at the time). British Heart Foundation might know of a charity who could help with hotel costs but I know they don't fund this directly.

How long will your son be in hospital?

TOMS_MUM

Hi thanks for all your help and suggestions.
We have an appointmentwith surgeon etc at LGI first week of January so we will find out the details then.
Its just that being in limbo as to sorting out who can be around for him and wether we would need to travel daily regarding train times etc and other details ie younger brother, pets etc. Tried phoning today but the lady I require is not there so will try again tomorrow.
We have known about this since he had is first open heart surgery at 2 years but suddenly its become real.
Thanks again .

McKneff

If all else fails, there are 2 Travelodges in Leeds, as well as Premier Inn. Booked soon enough they are pretty
reasonable.

Hope all goes well for him

Parva

Not quite on topic for your query but may be of use regardless.

I'm from Leeds myself and should be heading back to Leeds General Infirmary myself tomorrow. Meanwhile I'm here at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham.

This too is around 100 miles from home and visiting relatives found the cost of transport here expensive. The solution was Megabus. These seem to run from almost everywhere and go to alsorts of destinations so it's likely there will be one near you. The earlier you book the bus, the cheaper the journey is. Some return trips by relatives have been done for £10 each which is significantly cheaper than the likes of National Express etc.

Google 'megabus' if this is of interest to you.

Dognobs

100 miles is not that far, but you can get rooms for £15 if you book early hardly breaks the bank if it was my son I would find the money!

tatonette

I have experience with some of the London hospitals. If you contact PALS, there is generally a list where hospital staff have a spare room that they let out.

Quite a lot of the nurses who have flats in the city always seem to be offering to put relatives up for a small contribution.