Children Visiting In-Patients in Psychiatric Wards
Last updated: December 9, 2008
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
This procedure relates to visits by children under the age of 18 years to all in-patients on psychiatric wards.
The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that child visits to in-patients on mental health wards are safe, positive and beneficial to the welfare of the child in the first instance and the patient.
Visits by children to patients are central to the maintenance of normal, healthy relationships and should be encouraged and supported whenever possible. However there maybe occasions when it is not appropriate and hence this procedure ensures that these circumstances are identified and dealt with in a fair and effective manner.
Also is important to acknowledge there remains a need to manage the general circumstances on a ward and that this may, at times, impinge upon the arrangements for an individual patient.
There is no provision for managing visits by children where maintaining contact between the patient and children is not based on them having an important relationship e.g.: a child accompanying another adult who wishes to visit a patient.
Young people who are in-patients whose friends may wish to visit them, whilst contact should be encouraged and supported, it will be necessary for this to be managed within this procedure and taking in to account the other in-patients i.e.: it is unlikely that a large group of teenagers would be allowed to visit an in-patient at one time.
