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My sons experience in day surgery Monklands

Posted By pc0083

"My sons experience in day surgery Monklands"

About: University Hospital Monklands / Day Surgery

(as a service user),

My 18 year old son went for day surgery at Monklands. He's autistic and I wasn't permitted to stay with him. I was told he's 18 so he's an adult. I see a sign in the wait area saying adults must stay with their children if they're under 16 years old. I feel this needs to be reviewed to be in line with the UNCRC which recognised children up to the age of 18 and it would also be good to take into consideration adults with additional needs. 

He fasted from 6am, was taken to surgery until late afternoon and he didn't get out of recovery until later that evening which was a long time to be fasting. I feel this was a very anxious day for him and I would have liked to have been able to be there to support him more than I was permitted to.

 I want to say thank you to the staff who were kind and smiled even just when walking past. I don't have any criticism of their care but would just like to highlight some things that could be looked at that may have made my son's journey less of an anxious one

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Responses

Response from Helen Kerrigan, Senior Nurse, Periop Services, University Hospital Monklands, NHS Lanarkshire 5 months ago
Helen Kerrigan
Senior Nurse, Periop Services, University Hospital Monklands,
NHS Lanarkshire

Senior Nurse repsonsible for Theatres, Recovery, Day Surgery and Endoscopy at University Hospital Scotland

Submitted on 07/02/2025 at 17:06
Published on Care Opinion on 17/02/2025 at 12:05

Dear pc0083,

Thanks you for sharing you and your son's experience whilst attending Day Surgery Unit at Monklands.

I am sorry to hear that we did not allow you to stay with your son during his time in the unit, and that we did not take into consideration the additional support that your son would have benefited from. We are currently reviewing our procedures and practices in relation to all children and young people aged 18 and younger, in particular the new guidance and legislation contained within UNCRC. I believe that sharing you and your son's experience will influence our care going forward.

Although I am not aware of the specifics about why your son was fasted for so long, sometimes it is difficult to estimate how long an operating list takes, and sometimes the order of patient on an operating list is moved around for clinical reasons. Nevertheless, your son should have been offered sips of water, but I understand that the whole episode was made worse because your weren't with him.

Please be reassured that your comments are welcomed and will be shared with the Day Surgery team to help us learn from your experience.

Best wishes Helen

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