Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust’s paediatrics department recently conducted a walk-through with patient Orin Milor and his mother, Jen. The exercise was to look at a child’s surgical journey through the hospital and all the departments children coming in for surgery would visit.
The department have great initiatives for children when they are unwell and come to hospital to help them feel at ease. For example, a pre op assessment box which is made up of photos of the members of staff they will meet during their treatment, equipment that they will have to use and the scrubs they will wear for the operations and a range of toys as well as a variety of puzzle packs and information leaflets.
The day started off at the Children’s Day Unit where the team: Wendy Oliver (Nursery Nurse) Michelle Thomas (Ward Manager) Neelmanee Ramphul (Paediatric Consultant) and Anne Raine (Paediatric Nurse) met with Orin and Jen. The team showed Orin and Jen the pre op assessment information box and asked for feedback on how they found the department when Orin broke his arm. Orin commented that the pre op box is useful and suggested more game ideas such as ‘spot the difference’ and being able to pick his own theatre gown.
Anne Raine (Staff Nurse) comments on the box “The pre op assessment box is a new initiative that was developed following on from the completion of my pre op assessment course that I have recently completed. We hope this will improve the patients experience and help them understand what will happen when they go to theatre. Through patient feedback we will be able to add more information and equipment if needed.”
The group then moved across to the emergency department. This was Orin’s first contact with the paediatric team after breaking his arm. This would have been a stressful situation for the family and the team wanted to understand how to make this easier for them. Orin was seen quickly and moved to the children’s area (Peapod) where he was given his own room, and he was able to use the interactive games and watch television. He was offered snacks and could enjoy the nature artwork in the waiting area.
Jen (Orin’s mum) commented on the experience “The main thing isn’t the pretty lovely things it was the way the staff treated us. It was lovely.”
The next stop was theatres, where Orin was operated on for his broken arm. Lois Lincoln, Theatre Manager welcomed Orin and Jen and went through what happened when he came for treatment. Orin and Jen proposed adding artwork to the ceilings for children to look at while waiting and on the way to theatre and suggested a calming nature theme to help ease anxiety.
Orin and Jen also had the opportunity to visit the plaster room where he had his cast put on his arm. They met Peter (Plaster Technician) who showed the group the procedure for applying and removing a plaster. Orin did not like the machine that Peter used to remove a plaster but felt more at ease after Peter demonstrated the use of the equipment.
Jen praised the team:
Everyone was so canny. All the scary things didn’t seem scary. It was a really reassuring place to be, the whole family was treated lovely and friendly. He got the best possible care
Michelle Thomas, Ward Manager comments on the day and work involved, “We always try to ensure children, and their families have a positive hospital experience, so it was important for us to invite a family along to capture their views on the whole surgical journey. The walk through with Orin and Jen was really insightful in helping us to understand what already works well and where we can improve.”
We would like to express our thanks to Orin and Jen for taking the time to return to the department and provide valuable feedback that will benefit other children and families visiting the hospital.