Prof. Dr. med. Ulrich Wilhelm Thomale

Paediatric medicine covers the same specialist areas as adult medicine while taking into account the fact that the body is still growing and therefore has special requirements. Experts in paediatric cardiology, nephrology and orthopaedics are highly trained specialists with very specific qualifications. All medical examinations and treatments are performed on an interdisciplinary basis so as to guarantee the child’s overall wellbeing. 

Families from abroad often travel to Germany to have a child treated for a particular medical condition in a paediatric clinic. The healthcare on offer in their home countries may not always be sufficiently geared to the needs of paediatric patients, or the family in question may hope that additional diagnostic insights will help the right treatment to be found for their sick child. It is essential that the family bring details of the latest diagnoses and information about the course of the disease so far and to make this available to the doctors in Germany. In addition, the doctors will require a description of the child’s developmental stage and current problems.

Numerous paediatric clinics in Germany have been awarded a special quality certificate for their inpatient care. To obtain this certificate, clinics are evaluated according to quality criteria to ensure that they guarantee to provide high-quality and age-appropriate care to children and young people. One of the aspects that improves their score is if parents are actively involved in the recuperation process, for example if one parent is allowed to stay with the child in hospital.