© 2005 BMJ Publishing Group & Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
PERSPECTIVE
Health care
The evolution of paediatric hospitals
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr R B Goldbloom
Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; richard.goldbloom@iwk.nshealth.ca
Commentary on the paper by Ogilvie (see page 138)
Keywords: acute; emergency; admissions; assessment units; ambulatory care
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
The words "hospice", "hostel", and "hospital" share the same etymological root. In ancient times, the aged and infirm were often admitted to a hospice as a place to die. Typically the physical environment was spartan—walls bare except perhaps for a crucifix, and help limited to prayer. The spirit was otherwise ignored. Most, but not all, hospitals have overcome their monastic provenance and have evolved into cheerier environments. More and more hospitals now encourage the support of family and friends as an aid to recovery. But in too many adult hospitals, the physical environment still betrays its monastic unicellular roots. In health care, as in life, old traditions die hard.
The mere idea of a hospital dedicated exclusively to the care of children is a relatively recent concept. In the mid-19th century, Charles Dickens was a vigorous campaigner for the support of such a hospital in London—specifically, for The
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
Relevant Article
- Hospital based alternatives to acute paediatric admission: a systematic review
- D Ogilvie
Arch. Dis. Child. 2005 90: 138-142.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
eLetters:
Read all eLetters
- History of Children's Hospitals - a growth area?
- Oliver R Dearlove
- ADC Online, 9 Feb 2005 [Full text]
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Submit a response
- Read responses to this article
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in ADC Online
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
-
Child health
-
Adult intensive care
-
Paediatric intensive care
-
Neonatal and paediatric intensive care
-
Failure to thrive
- Relevant Article
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
