Children and their families in Pembrokeshire are being asked to help choose a child-friendly name for the Paediatric Ambulatory Care Unit (PACU) at Withybush Hospital.

Nurses, doctors and other children’s services staff at Hywel Dda University Health Board have proposed either Puffin Paediatric Ambulatory Care Unit or Dolphin Paediatric Ambulatory Care Unit.

Now they want help from children to choose which one they prefer. The Health Board has set up an online poll on its website and on its Facebook and Twitter accounts. They have also written to Pembrokeshire schools before the end of term and are handing out ballot papers on the unit itself.

Senior Sister on PACU, Sian Perry, explained: “We are preparing for a move from the former Ward 9 to the former Ward 14 area so that we can be much closer to both the Emergency and Urgent Care Unit and other departments for further investigation. This will help build links between the emergency department, other departments and ourselves so that we can more easily provide specialist paediatric input throughout the hospital as needed.

“The preparation work is ongoing during the summer and we thought this was a good opportunity to get our local children and families involved.

“We understand that the name PACU doesn’t mean much to people who don’t work in healthcare and we want the community to choose a name that reflects the warmth of our friendly unit and staff and will be welcoming to the children and young people who may attend.”

PACU at Withybush Hospital is open 12 hours a day (10 am - 10 pm), seven days a week. It has beds for emergency assessment, medical day treatments, day surgery and ongoing investigations and monitoring. Care is provided by a dedicated and hard-working team of paediatric consultants, doctors, children’s nurses and other health care professionals.

Many children can be treated in the unit itself and only a small proportion need to be transferred to Glangwili Hospital for an overnight stay - out of all emergency admissions to PACU in the last six months only 20 per cent have needed a transfer to inpatient services at Glangwili (one per cent to other hospitals, e.g. UHW)

Children and young people who can be treated on the unit include those with: sudden onset of pain; sickness; temperatures; infections; a requirement for dressings, blood tests, x-rays or scans; day surgery; medical day care.

The unit also has play specialists and staff who provide therapy, preparation and distraction for children and young people to make their stay as relaxed as possible and ensure they have a positive experience.

You can vote for the new name of the unit in many ways:

• Visit the website and cast your vote on the online poll down the right hand side of the screen at www.hywelddahb.wales.nhs.uk

• Request a ballot sheet from the current PACU ward, Child Health department main outpatients and the main reception at the hospital

• Cast your vote on Twitter @HywelDdaHB or Facebook @HywelDdaHealthBoard