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We're in and out of A&E with disabled son says Samantha Cameron
Sophie Goodchild, Health Editor22 Dec 2008
The wife of Conservative leader David Cameron gave a hint of the difficulties in coping with her disabled son as she opened a new children's ward today.
Samantha Cameron, 37, said she hoped the pioneering ward at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington would ease the pressures on families.
Mrs Cameron, whose six-year-old-son Ivan suffers from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, was speaking at the opening. The aim is to keep children like Ivan, a patient at St Mary's, out of hospital whenever possible, particularly at holiday periods such as Christmas.
She said: "We are in and out of our A&E on a regular basis. This system will be fantastic as it will make it much easier to spend as little time in hospital as possible while still receiving the appropriate level of care."
The eldest of the couple's three children was diagnosed six days after his birth. He suffers seizures most days and needs 24-hour nursing care.
Mrs Cameron has spoken in the past of the "terrible shock" and "grief" of learning about his condition, although she says that this has strengthened her relationship with her husband.
The new ward, part of Imperial College Healthcare Trust, is called the paediatric short-stay unit and gives sick children access to hospital care without the necessity of an overnight stay.
Consultant paediatrician Mando Watson said: "We hope the new ward will shorten children's hospital stays in future.
"For example, a child might come through A&E having had an asthma attack and need a period of observation in hospital, maybe eight hours.
"During this period we make sure the child feels comfortable using an inhaler and give parents the skills to manage their child's condition at home."
GPs will also benefit from a hotline manned by paediatric consultants at the unit to provide advice on specific cases. Sick children who cannot wait for an outpatients' appointment will have the opportunity to see a consultant immediately.
Once children are discharged from hospital staff on the ward continue to support parents both over the phone and in clinics on the ward.
