What rights does a child have in hospital?

Do children have rights in the healthcare system? Of course they do - especially in hospital. These rights are by no means a matter of course. On 20 November, they celebrate their 30th birthday. Every child should know what their rights are - not only in road traffic, at school and in everyday life, but also when it comes to their own body.

The rights summarised at European level in the EACH Charter comprise ten points and are recognised by Swiss children's hospitals.

Your rights in hospital:

1. I have to go to hospital when it's absolutely necessary.
2. If I have to go to hospital, my parents can stay with me.
3. My parents are allowed to be present at all the examinations that are carried out on me.
4. They explain to me and my parents exactly what needs to be done to make me feel better again soon.
5. Everyone who treats and cares for me makes sure that I feel as little pain as possible.
6. At the hospital, I am treated together with other children on a paediatric ward.
7. Everyone at the hospital makes sure that I feel comfortable. That's why I'm also allowed to play and learn.
8. The people treating and caring for me listen to me, are understanding and empathetic and take my opinion seriously.
9. There are people at the hospital who often look after me and know me well. They talk to me and my parents. I can ask them anything I want to know.
10. I am treated with respect. If I'm embarrassed about an examination or I'm very scared, I tell the people at the hospital. Then they help me to feel better again.

Hanne Sieber founded the Kind+Spital association 45 years ago as a non-profit organisation that stands up for the rights of children and young people in the healthcare sector. In 1979, nobody was talking about children's rights. Children who had to go to hospital could not be accompanied by their parents. Children were also not informed about the treatments they would receive, and their needs and pain were often not taken seriously. The son of founder Hanne Sieber was hospitalised at the time, as was André Poulie, founder of the Theodora Foundation.

Two mothers' fight for children's rights

But André Poulie's mother Théodora refused to be put off by the doctors and managed to gain access to the hospital. She entertained the children in her son's room and made them laugh - André and his brother Jan set up the Theodora Foundation in her honour, which tries to make the children's stay in hospital easier through visits from the dream doctors. Hanne Sieber was also a tenacious mother who stood up for her child's needs and refused to be put off. Over the years, she achieved a great deal for children's rights and, together with European sister organisations, drew up the EACH Charter.

The Charter of the European Association for Children in Hospital (EACH) is a common agreement on what children have a right to in hospital. The children's hospitals in Switzerland have recognised this charter.

Since the adoption of the Charter in 1988, knowledge about the needs of children in the healthcare system has constantly expanded. Experience has also confirmed the importance of so-called family-centred care. The rights of children in the healthcare sector - and not just in hospitals - are also set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted in 1989.

Crying pain thanks to Buzzy

The Kind+Spital association is part of the Swiss Children's Rights Network and endeavours to implement the points of the EACH Charter by focusing on «prevention & information» and «pain relief». The hospital play kit for primary school children prepares them for a possible hospital stay in a playful way and informs them about nursing professions, procedures and hospital equipment in an age-appropriate way. In this kit, each child will find a plaster case with four children's plasters summarising the ten rights in hospital.

In 2015, a paediatrician in California developed Buzzy, a small medical device that looks like a bee or a ladybird. Thanks to the cold (gel wings) and vibration, localised pain is no longer fully transmitted to the brain. Cold and vibration are a distraction and reduce anxiety during minor procedures and examinations, and many children no longer feel any pain at all. This directly supports point 5 of the EACH Charter.

Kind+Spital has the sole distribution rights for Buzzy in Switzerland. Many paediatricians and wards in children's hospitals know Buzzy and use it. You can also ask for Buzzy. Buzzy is available in two versions: As Healthcare for use in the healthcare sector with changing patients and as Buzzy Personal for personal use (especially for diabetic children or children who need hormone therapy, for example).