Paediatric day hospitals – current world-wide experiences

Day hospitals are the result of a trend towards conservative treatment methods for children. The advantages of this model include a more humane approach to the patient and avoidance of the psychic trauma caused by classical hospitalization, as well as lower financial costs. The need for patient screening and a reduced scope of available diagnostic and therapeutic methods are some of the drawbacks. Through adequate organization and integration with a classical hospital these drawbacks can be reduced. In all, day hospitals significantly increase the quality of children's health care, particularly in areas with a reduced number of paediatric hospital beds. In this paper we briefly present international experiences with paediatric day hospitals.