"Day case General Anaesthetic"

Anything else?

My 4 year old son had a general anaesthetic procedure a few days ago and we were very pleased with the service given at Sheffield. We arrived at 12pm and my son was weighed and measured, and the usual details taken. He was able to watch daddy play on Mario while he waited to go theatre. There were a few children getting restless waiting ( and obviously hungry due to not being able to eat!) but there was a member of staff trying to distract and assist with activities like colouring. It was a 2 and a half hour wait before he had his anaesthetic, but I believe there was an emergency case brought in. An hour later we were taken into recovery by a very friendly nurse to find a calm son. He chose his own bravery certificate and we were taken quickly up to the ward. My son was very hungry and as soon as we asked for a biscuit it was there. He then wanted sandwiches and again food was brought immediately. His Consultant arrived at the same time and gave us feedback on his procedure and asked us to come back in a couple of weeks for a review. The anaesthetist also checked he was recovering well, and we were disharged in super fast time! We had expected we may need an overnight stay, but the staff were very efficient with all of the children around us. An area that could be improved is the place the children are expected to get changed into theatre gowns. There are 2 toilets in the waiting room, one of them labelled toilet and changing room. I think it would be far more hygienic to change in a side room rather than in a toilet, especially with all the germs in the toilets that could get on to the operating gowns. How can that be good for infection control?