Paediatric care standards among wards in Poland from the perspective of staff, patients, and parents with particular emphasis on psychological care

Introduction
During hospitalisation, the child is in an unknown environment that is associated with unpleasantness, fear, and pain. Constant progress has been made in the area of improving the mental comfort of treated children by adjusting the appearance of facilities, increasing the availability of psychologists, and educating parents and patients.

Aim
To summarise the perspective of three entities – staff, parents, and children in the context of hospitalisation of paediatric patients with a specification of psychological care.

Material and methods
A survey consisting of 12 questions was conducted among 405 respondents divided into three study groups and three subgroups in the group of children. The study was conducted in paediatric wards with varying degrees of reference in Poland. Material was subjected to statistical analysis.

Results
The most common answer in all groups was that children respond to information about the disease with fear, providing information takes place in the hospital, and is usually done by a doctor. The study showed that in Poland access to psychologists in children’s wards is insufficient, while leisure time during treatment is organised satisfactorily.

Conclusions
Paediatric care should be expanded to include an element of education for both the patients themselves in the context of reducing stress associated with the disease and parents in the context of contact with the sick child and providing information about the disease entity. It is necessary to increase the availability of psychologists, not only for children, but also among parents. There is a necessity to separate special zones for conversations requiring intimacy. It is important to prepare new solutions.