The children’s acute nursing initiative (CANI) is a team of nurses who help with the early discharge of children from hospital.
We look after children from the Newcastle area who have been unwell in hospital but have improved enough to go home – with the support from CANI’s team of experienced children’s nurses.
Our services
To help children go home earlier, we can:
- support families to administer the child’s medication
- provide clinical advice
- monitor things like temperature, oxygen levels and heart rate
- give intravenous antibiotics.
A consultant paediatrician at the hospital will still have overall responsibility for your child’s care while the CANI team care for your child. If necessary, the CANI nurse can arrange for your child to be seen again by the doctor at the hospital.
Working in partnership with you
The nurses work in partnership with you to develop a plan of care for your child. We may ask you to monitor and record information about your child’s condition on a simple chart. This will be fully explained to you by a member of the CANI team.
Operational hours
CANI nurses work shifts that cover from 8.00am to 10.00pm, seven days a week all year round. You will be given a phone number so you can speak to one of the nurses if you have any concerns. After 10.00pm, you can speak to a doctor.
Accessing our service
Children and families from the Newcastle area can use the CANI service.
It depends on the nature of your child’s illness and treatment as to whether or not CANI can help. Your doctor and nurse will speak to you about using the team when your child is about to finish their treatment. For more details, please ask your nurse.
