Journal of child health care : for professionals working with children in the hospital and community
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Clinical audit is a valuable tool in the drive towards quality. Day-case surgery is designed to keep children within their families. ⋯ A telephone call following day-case surgery appears to give parents effective support. Children experience few problems immediately following day-case surgery.
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Earlier discharge following tonsillectomy increases the need for good pain management advice and effective analgesia. An audit determined the nature of children's pain experiences at home following tonsillectomy and identified pain management strategies used. ⋯ Pain could worsen following discharge, persist for three to ten days and be at times moderate to severe. 50% of parents contacted their GP and 75% of children required paracetamol and ibuprofen concurrently. Audit data was utilised to develop comprehensive written pain management advice and a discharge protocol for combined analgesia.
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Play is recognised as an essential component of a child's life. Playing with children in hospital can aid nurses in assessing, communicating and providing nursing care. ⋯ Play can benefit children, health carers and parents in the hospital setting. Play workshops encourage children's nurses to view play as an integral part of their role.
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Literature suggests that nurses do not prioritize pain management. This study aimed to determine the importance paediatric nurses give to pain management and whether they report a need for further training. ⋯ Educational deficits about some areas of pain management were identified. Educational provision about pain needs re-evaluating at both the pre- and post-registration level.