Children's medical ward A7 — Canterbury
A7 is a 24 bed ward for children aged 0 to 15 years. It provides care for children who need hospitalisation for medical conditions and for infants under one who need surgery.
Contact us
To contact ward A7, phone 03 364 0640
Where to find us
A7 is located on Level 7 of Christchurch Hospital Waipapa building.
Christchurch Hospital map
Services we provide
Children admitted to A7 can have a parent or caregiver stay with them in their room. We have a great team with experience taking care of children and aim to make the hospital experience as positive as possible.
Meals will be provided for your child. Tea, coffee and toast is provided for the parent or caregiver who is living in. You can ask your nurse about meal options for caregivers. We support breastfeeding mothers with equipment for expressing and for breast milk storage.
How things work on the ward
There are 3 nursing shifts over a 24 hour period, so expect to see different nurses throughout your stay.
When nurses are changing shifts, they will usually come into your room to do a bedside handover with you and your child.
At this time your "About Me" board will be updated with information that everyone needs to know, like:
- your nurse's name
- your child's diet
- estimated discharge date
- any other information that is important to you.
Observations
Nursing staff will regularly check on you and your child throughout the day and night. They will monitor your child's condition by making routine observations like:
- temperature
- blood pressure
- respiration
- heart rate.
They try to do this as quietly as possible, especially at night.
Ward rounds
Our paediatric doctors do ward rounds which usually start around 9am. They will review your child’s condition and discuss this with you, along with any tests or procedures and their results.
This is a good time to share any concerns you may have about your child’s condition or the medical management with the medical team. The time that the doctors see your child on ward rounds depends on the number of children staying in hospital and how unwell they are.
Specialist services
There are several specialist services that may also be involved with your child's care, including:
- dietitian
- social workers
- speech and language therapy
- occupational therapy
- physiotherapy
- hospital play specialist
- Māori health services
- children's outreach nurses.