"Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy for my 5yo child"

My child had her T&As removed at Stawell hospital in April.  She was first on the list. Having to fast early hours in the morning is no fun for any child. Theatre staff did a fabulous job in distracting my child from this fact. They were warm and welcoming and tried really hard to keep my child occupied and feeling cared for.

They informed us about delays and were calm and confident when interacting with my child. This helped ease our anxiety enormously. The anaesthetic Nurse and the anaesthetist Dr Hamish both went to great trouble to really build a connection with my child, allowing her to choose stickers for her oxygen mask and choose scents for her to smell. As a parent I was included in the discussion around my daughters care and I felt totally supported by staff.

Recovery staff were knowledgeable and friendly and handled my daughter's pain effectively before we were transferred to the ward. Ward staff were respectful and let my daughter rest between taking observations, we were able to close the door to our room to keep noise level to a minimum. Fortunately we were able to be discharged on the same day.

After giving the last of the medications, staff removed my daughters IV cannula. She found this a very painful experience. Unfortunately there were limited distraction strategies available and it was difficult to shift my child's attention away from the procedure and onto something more pleasant. As a result of this, my daughter decided to gift some toys, bubbles and stickers to the ward for them to use as distraction and rewards for bravery. We cannot thank everyone involved in our journey enough and we are truly appreciative for the great care we received.