Innovative digital solutions improving care for day surgery patients

An app, a virtual tour, and a virtual reality (VR) video are helping children and young people feel confident and relaxed ahead of procedures at Evelina London's children's day surgery unit.

Evelina London has collaborated with the patient education company Xploro to create an app that allows patients to customise an avatar to travel around the children's day surgery unit, explore treatments and play games.

The app, which has already been downloaded by hundreds of patients, aims to reduce anxiety in children and young people coming for surgery by introducing them to what will happen on the day of their procedure and allowing them to get used to the environment from the comfort of their home.

Francine and 4-year-old Salvador used the app to prepare for Salvador's surgery.

Francine said:

The Xploro app was such a fantastic tool for us to engage Salvador in his upcoming surgery and what to expect with his visit. 

"He loved the interactive character and dressing him up and popping him into his surroundings. The explanations of the day surgery, hospital staff and equipment were age appropriate and clear and helped to prepare him for the day so he knew what to expect."

Dr Raksa Tupprasoot, a consultant paediatric anaesthetist working in the children's day surgery unit, said: "I was impressed that my patient had an idea of what the anaesthetic involved from the app, which was a pleasant surprise and really helped build on my explanation to them about the anaesthetic on the day. The fact that they were mentally prepared and knew what to expect was enormously helpful."

Alongside the app, patients can familiarise themselves with the day surgery unit using a 360-degree virtual map on the Evelina London website. The map allows patients to do a virtual walkthrough to explore all areas of the unit.

They can also watch a video on YouTube, which is compatible with VR headsets, where an Evelina London patient, Angelos, guides them through what to expect on the day of surgery. Angelos explains what will happen before, during, and after a procedure, and introduces all the staff members patients might meet. The VR compatibility means that children and young people using a VR headset can turn their head and look around the unit, making the video more immersive and allowing them to see more.

These resources aim to support children and young people to feel more comfortable, confident and informed, helping them have a better hospital experience.

Lance Tooke, clinical director for children's surgery, theatres and anaesthesia at Evelina London, said: "We are committed to providing the best care at Evelina London, and a key part of this involves helping our patients and their families feel confident and in control of their health journey.

I am immensely proud of the virtual solutions coming from our hard-working and innovative teams.

 

Having a procedure in an unfamiliar environment can be daunting for any child, and we hope by providing these resources we can give our patients a better and more comfortable experience.

The award-winning children's day surgery unit is housed in the Children's Day Treatment Centre, Evelina London's newest building. The state-of-the-art, space-themed facility has 2 operating theatres dedicated to day surgery. Families wait less on the day of surgery as pre-surgery checks, the operation, recovery and preparation for going home is done seamlessly in one place, on the same day.