Paediatric day at Dewsbury and District Hospital resounding success | News

On Monday 27 September, we held a full day of dedicated paediatric surgery at Dewsbury and District Hospital. The day was a resounding success, with 30 patients aged between 2 – 15 able to have their elective surgery after the pandemic.

The purpose of the day was to ensure that children could receive their elective surgery in a dedicated environment designed to meet their needs, whilst reducing the waiting list for children by having the ability to operate on more than three times the number of patients that staff would normally. By consolidating our specialist resource such as surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and ODPs, we were able to offer the best care for our patients, ensuring a positive patient experience and patient safety. This is the third dedicated day we have held for paediatrics, with plans to hold one per month going forward. By the time we have done the fourth of these days we will have operated on approximately 100 children, which would have normally taken over 12 weeks.

We received some wonderful feedback and comments from patients, their families and members of staff; with the day also used as an opportunity to celebrate the work of the paediatric, theatre and surgical staff across the Trust who worked extremely hard to plan and ensure smooth running of the day.

Louise Mell, parent of 8 year old Maddison, who attended for surgery to correct a severe squint in her left eye, said:

Super proud of our little girl, she was so so brave today. Settled back at home now resting. Thank you to all the nurses, staff and surgeons that helped Maddison today! You are all amazing!