Surgery in Children

Preoperative Care

Patient Preparation
Making Every Contact Count (MECC)
Preoperative Care Documents
Individualised Perioperative Pathway
Communication Aids

Dr Samantha Black

 

Dr Samantha Black is a paediatric and perioperative anaesthetist at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, Kent. She is paediatric anaesthetic lead at Medway having established paediatric Preoperative Care and HVLC paediatric lists. Her main interests include both adult and paediatric Preoperative Care, CPET and prehabilitation. She is the patient information lead at the Royal College of Anaesthetists and has led on the projects ‘Dennis has an Anaesthetic’ and ‘Preparing your Mind’ as part of the colleges ‘Fitter Better Sooner’ toolkit. She is also part of the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland perioperative committee, and was part of the team to write the first ever national paediatric Preoperative Care best practice guidance. She is part of the team currently writing the best practice guidance in preparation and management of children and young people with additional needs requiring surgery or procedures.

Why are the STPN keen to support high quality Preoperative Care?

High Quality Preoperative Care:
  • Improve the family and child’s experience
  • Supports the preparation of the child and their family
  • Improve patient outcomes in high risk patients
  • Improve theatre utilisation, and efficiency, and aid in the drive for elective recovery
  • Promote equitable access and reduced variation in services
  • Support local delivery of care

The STPN are supporting the development of Preoperative Care services for children across the region in collaboration with experts from across the network. It is our Surgery in Children ODN goal that Preoperative Care is delivered in all the trusts in the network to the standards set out in the APAGBI Best Practice Guidance Preoperative Care Services for Children and Young People

The Benefits of Preoperative Care

STPN Pre-assessment Service Evaluation Published in Leading Paediatric Anaesthesia Journal

We are delighted to share that our Network-wide paediatric pre-assessment service evaluation has been published in Pediatric Anesthesia, a leading international journal in the specialty.
The publication, Pediatric Preassessment Service Evaluation Across the South Thames Pediatric Network, highlights the collaborative work undertaken across STPN to better understand families’ experiences of pre-assessment services.
The evaluation gathered 403 responses from families across 18 hospitals, with findings showing that:
  • – 85% felt pre-assessment adequately prepared them and their child for surgery.
  • – 95% of families with children requiring additional support felt their individual needs were listened to.
  • – Telephone consultations were the most commonly used and preferred method of pre-assessment.
The findings demonstrate the value of paediatric pre-assessment and identify opportunities to further improve communication, information provision and personalised care across the Network.
This publication is a fantastic achievement for the team and reflects the contributions of colleagues across STPN and our member hospitals. The findings will help inform our ongoing work to improve pre-assessment services for children and families.
Read the full publication: Pediatric Preassessment Service Evaluation Across the South Thames Pediatric Network