"Fast, child-friendly care"

I recently shared the news story about redirection in children's ED as a concept that we could use across a different board as a way of facilitating the right care, in the right place and at the right time. We then had to use it.

The concept of redirection, when done in a child-centred fashion, is exceptional. What made this process work for us was a team of health care professionals who could balance the overall position of the hospital that day with the needs of my child (and me).

While my child met the criteria for redirection, she was also in exceptional pain and the nurse in triage kindly advised the service was available but also, knowing my daughters pain levels and that we had travelled almost an hour to be there, that we could see a doctor and that the wait time wasn't too bad that she felt redirection was entirely necessary. This meant that my child had been seen and listened to as an Individual, not just a flow chart or a pathway, and my voice and story as her parent was also considered.

When we progressed through triage we were seen by Karen, the most wonderful ANP who assessed her injury with kindness, compassion and gentle assessment quickly and efficiently. Karen made her laugh and smile despite her pain and let us clearly know what the next steps would be.

My daughter was seen by radiology within 10 minutes with the results returned within less than 20. The radiographer  was also wonderful, allowed me to help her when she was in pain and gently helped her get back into a comfy position when all of the images were complete. 

I cannot thank the RHC team enough for looking after my little girl, and me when we needed it most.