De toekomst van de ziekenhuispediatrie in België

The spectrum of hospital paediatric care is changing. The decrease in the amount and the duration of the classical hospitalizations leads to an increased workload for the medical and the paramedical team. The enhanced abilities for ambulant treatment result in a higher complexity and increased needs of the admitted patients. The rise in short-stay hospitalization implies special needs and financing. The tasks of the hospital paediatrician have changed dramatically over the years. The maximal working time is currently under discussion due to a changing mentality and the European directive. The organization of the future hospital care for children has to be focused mainly on the needs of the hospitalized sick child, based on the European charter of children admitted in hospitals. Each child being admitted in either classical or short-stay hospitalization or presenting at the outpatient clinic or the emergency room is entitled to a high-quality care with special attention for his physical, psychological and social well-being. The required enlargement and the better financing of the medical and paramedical teams can only be justified towards society and will only result in a better quality of care if the paediatric units assume a critical workload and if all hospital care for children is centralized in one site for each hospital. The accessibility of hospital care has to be guaranteed by a well-balanced geographical spreading of the units as well as by an appropriate and clearly structured first-line healthcare offer for children.