A bed for a parent keeping watch over their child in hospital is still only a dream in many paediatric wards. The lack of space for a parent is not only a problem affecting sleep quality, but also creates the feeling of being an unwelcome guest.
Listen to what they say about the new beds for parents: Ms Ewelina, whose son is being treated in the paediatric ward of the Bolesławiec hospital, Kamil Barczyk – director of the Bolesławiec hospital, DrAleksandra Kopczyńska – Head of the Paediatric Ward at the Bolesławiec hospital, and Piotr Borowy, a friend and donor of the McDonald’s Foundation and a McDonald’s franchisee.
“The Ronald McDonald Foundation is changing the reality of public children’s hospitals thanks to the growing involvement of donors and friends of the Foundation. We know that improving the conditions for parents staying with their children in hospital is possible; it starts with a bed and cannot be postponed if we do not want to suddenly face a choice between a sleeping mat and a chair. This year, we are donating beds for parents financed by 1% tax allocations. It is a very concrete example of how each of us can help public hospitals,” says Katarzyna Rodziewicz, President of the Management Board and Executive Director of the Ronald McDonald Foundation.
The first 423 beds for mothers and fathers were delivered to the UCK WUM Children’s Clinical Hospital in 2015. It represented a huge change in approach, because a bed for a parent was placed next to every child’s bed. Thanks to the Foundation, Poland’s first hospital was created where no parent ever slept on the floor.
Children from across the country are treated at the WUM hospital, and doctors and hospitals from all over Poland cooperate with it. As a result, examples of solutions that became standard there quickly became widely known. The beds proved highly successful, as they were praised by parents spending anything from several days to several weeks in hospital. Consequently, other hospitals returned to the Foundation asking for cooperation and assistance.
“We sent subsequent batches of beds to Łódź, Koszalin, Białystok, Gdańsk, Suwałki, Kępno, Kraków, Ustrzyki Dolne, Ełk, Legnica, Włodawa, Włoszczowa, Wyszków, Lublin, Rzeszów, Częstochowa, Olsztyn, Radom, Mrągowo, Warsaw and Zgorzelec. To appreciate the change, it is worth listening to the opinions of parents and children. Yes, children too! They often say that the beds are great for them because their mother can stay next to them all the time and be comfortable! The Foundation has donated 736 beds for parents to 26 hospitals in Poland,” Katarzyna Rodziewicz summarises.
The beds fold out, are comfortable and easy to clean, and are very much needed in everyday hospital life, as nurses and doctors also unanimously emphasise. During the day, they can be folded up and take up less space as an armchair, while in the evening they can be turned into a comfortable place to sleep. Parents of hospitalised children appreciate the quality of sleep.