Paediatric emergency services

At the Paediatric Emergency Unit of Tays Central Hospital, we examine and provide treatment around the clock to children and adolescents under 16 years of age who require urgent medical attention. Only children presenting at Tays due to trauma will be treated at Emergency Department Acuta.

Except for accidents, Tays Paediatric Emergency Services treat all patients under the age of 16 who have a sudden symptom or illness, including psychiatric paediatric patients.

Tays Accident and Emergency Department Acuta treats children and adolescents under the age of 16 who need treatment due to an accident. These include injuries caused by falls, falls or other accidents, suspected fractures, burns and wounds.

Emergency services are contacted only when treatment cannot wait until the next working day.

If your child suddenly falls ill on a workday during daytime hours, please take him/her to your local health centre or another medical clinic. If needed, a referral to the Paediatric Emergency Unit will be drawn up.

In life-threatening situations (for example, if the child is unconscious, has severe trouble breathing or is having a seizure), please call an ambulance and bring the child to the hospital without a referral. The ambulance staff will know which treatment unit the child needs to be taken to.

The Accident and Emergency Department at Tays Valkeakoski Hospital provides treatment to paediatric patients in its responsibility area every day around the clock.

Contact information

• Address: Tays Central Hospital, Elämänaukio 2, Building L, 1st floor
• If you come by car, it is most convenient to come through the parking garage. There is a lift to the children's and youth hospital from the hall. The address of the parking garage is Kuntokatu 2, Tampere. Escort traffic is also possible through the hall.
• If you come by public transport, the entrance is through Tay's main entrance, address Elämänaukio 2. The square is only for light traffic. Main entrance is open from 6am to 10pm. When the door is closed, ring the doorbell.
• Please call the Pirkanmaa medical helpline 116117 before coming to the hospital for emergency services.
• You can also call a nurse, but ONLY in urgent matters relating to specialised health care emergencies: 03 311 65713.
• The health care counselling service at 03 10023 (from 7 am to 10 pm) is available to help you with any concerns you may have about your child.

Who is treated at the Paediatric Emergency Unit?

Patients treated at the Paediatric Emergency Unit may include, for example:

• children who are unconscious or not breathing
• children who have trouble breathing
• children with seizures
• children who have been bitten by a snake
• children who have received an electric shock
• children with internal medical problems requiring emergency treatment
• young children with both diarrhoea and vomiting
• babies under 3 months of age with a fever
• stomach ache
• urgent psychiatric problems

In the case of an accident, such as a fall, traffic accident, burn or some other injury, please take the child to Accident and Emergency Department Acuta at Tays.

Treatment at the Paediatric Emergency Unit

When a health centre physician or a private physician considers a child or an adolescent to be in need of specialised medical examinations or treatment, he/she will usually refer the child or adolescent to the Paediatric Emergency Unit. All children who may be in need of inpatient treatment are also referred to the Paediatric Emergency Unit for a medical evaluation. We provide treatment to these children at the Paediatric Emergency Unit every day around the clock.

Patients presenting at the emergency unit are treated in order of medical urgency. The examinations needed to investigate a child’s sudden illness and symptoms and the need for treatment are determined on the basis of the child’s symptoms, condition and age.

Instructions about coming to the Paediatric Emergency Unit

The door is locked in the evenings and during weekends, so buzz the doorbell when you arrive. If the child has chickenpox, you should state it immediately at the front door before you come in.

Sign up personally to the Emergency Unit's secretary or nurse. A nurse will admit the child when you arrive at the emergency department and assess the level of urgency. The waiting time to meet a physician depends on the urgency of the case and the number of other patients. Nevertheless, the child will receive treatment throughout the whole time.

The average duration of treatment at the emergency department is 3–4 hours. Hydration treatment, for instance, can take up to six hours, but the visit may be over in less than an hour in some cases. A child must never be left alone at the emergency unit and should be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.

Take some snacks with you for the child to eat; special milk products may not be available at the emergency services. We also need information on any current medication.

Depending on the need for follow-up treatment, the patient goes home after the treatment or is transferred to the Paediatric Ward or the Paediatric Home Hospital. Follow-up care instructions, prescriptions and referrals will be provided upon dispatch. The bill for the visit will be sent to your home address.

Children are usually taken home by their parents. If the child has arrived by ambulance at night, taxi is also available.

Facilities

When waiting for tests and treatment, wait in the lobby or the monitoring room. Patients with gastroenteritis, chickenpox or some other easily transmitted disease, as well as patients with an immunological deficiency, are placed in monitoring rooms. There are toys and books for children in the lobbies, as well as prams for small children.

The café of the Tays Central Hospital and the snack machine in the main lobby are close to the Paediatric Emergency Unit. There are also vending machines selling coffee and cartons of juice in the lobby of the emergency department, as well as a microwave oven for heating food.

Mobile phones and tablet computers may be used in the waiting areas and monitoring rooms. Treatment rooms are dedicated only for treatment procedures.

Persons in charge

Deputy Chief physician Merja Helminen
Ward manager Eeva Kääriä