We are recognised as a national centre of excellence for the treatment of acute and chronic neuro-musculoskeletal conditions in children and young people.

Children and young people are able to access private care at the RNOH. The safety of our services for children and young people is enhanced by the  support of other paediatric facilities which include a dedicated children and young people’s high dependency unit, multi-disciplinary team support  and a round the clock Paediatrician team.

Working within a major teaching hospital ensures we have the complete range of diagnostic techniques at our disposal, so we can therefore create the most appropriate treatment plan for your child from the outset.

Excellent care is provided to your child by registered children’s nurses who are knowledgeable in many orthopaedic conditions and interventions. The ensuite rooms for children and young people accessing services through the private pathway are located on the children and young people’s ward called Sir William Coxen Ward. This ensures your child is cared for by the appropriately trained staff and has access to all services offered to this age group whilst in hospital.

The children and young person inpatient ward has two socialisation spaces. One is for younger children and the other is for teenagers. These are both overseen by qualified Hospital Play Specialists. In addition to normal play activities, the specialists can explain to your child through play why they are in hospital and what experiences they may go through during their stay.

The specialists can also help distract children during certain procedures. If your child needs to spend a long time with us, then the play specialists will liaise with physiotherapists and occupational therapists to plan a developmental play programme, should you wish them to do so.

Ensuring that your children maintain a sense of normality and continue to develop is important to us. It is a legal requirement for children and young people to have access to schooling during their hospital stay. The school at the RNOH is provided by Harrow Education Service and therefore all teachers are qualified to the required national level.

Our hospital school can provide your child with an excellent standard of educational and developmental support.  Children at the RNOH are encouraged to attend the school. The school is situated on Sir William Coxen Ward. All core subjects are taught including cookery which is a popular subject and works as a great distraction for children and young people in hospital.

Teachers will meet with you on arrival and go through what school work you need to undertake. They may also liaise with your child’s school to ensure they are targeting the correct subjects. Many patients bring in work from their own schools and our teachers offer support with this. We have laptops available to assist with this.

Sir William Coxen Ward has a physiotherapy gym located on the floor specifically for inpatients to use to undertake their exercises. In fine weather the physiotherapy team like to undertake exercises outside if appropriate in the dedicated garden. There is a basketball court which is used by them to encourage specific exercises and stretches. 

This outside space is ideal for both patients and carers to use and de-stress in.

Pepper lives on Coxen Ward and is a 4-foot tall, interactive robot who is able to converse with people, take instructions and play games. 

Research has shown that robots, like Pepper, can help relieve anxiety, develop social skills and improve communication skills of the cognitively impaired.

Pepper is used to both entertain and educate the patients, through a variety of programs, custom-built for the ward, including:

• Greeting patients and visitors at reception
• Giving patients and parents their ward introductions
• Completing Friends & Family questionnaires
• Educational games, videos and activities

We have installed a new Patient Entertainment system available to all inpatients.

The interactive screens on retractable arms provide our patients with a full range of media, including:

• Freeview TV
• Radio
• Audiobooks
• Internet browsing
• Free telephone access
• Ward guides and videos

Our aim is to increase the media content available, including Video on Demand (movies).

Wall mounted Patient Entertainment screens will also be available to our patients and visitors in the waiting and recreation areas.

Our younger patients on the Sir William Coxen Ward also have access to a Playstation4, with a selection of games and films, in the Adolescent Recreation Room and Children’s Play Room.

Having an MRI scan can be daunting, even for adults. This can cause anxiety and, in children, this can be particularly unsettling. So, at the RNOH, we have developed a mini-MRI that allows us to explain to younger patients what an MRI is and how it works.