Creating calmer spaces for kids in emergency departments

Special areas for children were an important part of the $34.9 million Sunshine Hospital emergency department redevelopment (completed in 2021) and the $76.3 million Monash Medical Centre emergency department expansion (completed in 2022).

Associate Professor David Krieser, Director of Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Sunshine Hospital, says: ‘In a regular ED, kids may get upset at the sight and sound of distressed and injured adult patients. Creating a space that they recognise as designed for families can help keep children, parents and carers calm.’

He’s seen how this makes a difference.

‘I’ve seen mums with young babies pacing around the ED, quite upset – for example if the bub isn’t feeding well.

‘I bring them to the kids’ ED and into a space that clearly caters for mums and babies. I point out the baby bottle-warming station and baby procedure crib, in case treatment becomes necessary.

‘This lets them know they are in the best possible place and can settle into a comfy chair to talk about what’s wrong.’

Dr David, as he’s known to families at Sunshine Hospital, explains that using treatment rooms designed specifically for children – where they can close the door for privacy – are useful for procedures like taking blood.

‘The kids can choose something they like to watch and listen to on an iPad, to help them feel more comfortable and create a distraction.

‘The requests aren’t always what you might expect, like Bluey or The Wiggles. We’ve had a young patient say that surf videos would chill him out. One boy had been hurt playing basketball, so he asked to watch NBA highlights to think about getting better and back on the court.’

If a little one struggles to express what they’d like, staff will ask a sibling, parent or carer what would work best.

‘This flexibility means we’re not imposing a one-size-fits-all approach of what we assume kids would want to look at.

‘We also have assessment rooms with discreet repeating patterns like flowers, snails and sunshine. We ask if they can spot one of these on the wall to engage and distract them, taking their thoughts away from their immediate experience.’