In Slovenia there are currently about 20 young patients with final renal failure and need dialysis treatments. 12 of them need hemodialysis treatments three or even four times a week. The other are treated with peritoneal dialysis. Most of them have other health problems, like blindness, celebral paralysis and other chronic diseases.
Hemodialysis patients come regularly to Childrens Hemodialysis Centre at Paediatric Clinic in Ljubljana. They attend their home schools (Primary or Secondary) regularly, so the schedules of medical treatments are adjusted to their individual needs. Even so they miss a lot school hours and need help with their homeworks, studying, school projects… As a Hospital School we offer them that kind of help. Therefore the team approach (teachers, paediatric nephrologist, medical nurses, pedagogues) to each individual young patient is very important. The team meets once a week and discuses each young patient individually. The team also meets with each young patient’s home school at least once a year. Hospital teachers and teachers from different home schools work closely together.
Through case study (blind 8th grader, who needs hemodialysis treatment) we would like to stress out, how important a good education is for a young hemodialysis patient for him/her in his/hers later in life. How much effort must he/she, his/her family and his/her home school put in and of course how important a good team approach and flexible and effective organisation of Hospital School is.
