Pre Operative Assessment

Initially established in 2000 by two nurses, the services has continued to grow and in 2014 the team expanded to include paediatric anaesthetists; allowing children with more medically complex backgrounds to be assessed at consultant level prior to surgery. The Pre Admission Nurses see approximately 5000 patients per year in their clinics and the Paediatric Consultant Anaesthetists see approximately 500 children per year in their clinics.

The purpose of your child’s pre admission appointment is to:

• Assess your child’s fitness for a general anaesthetic
• This includes:
  • Obtaining your child’s medical, surgical and anaesthetic history
  • Discussing relevant family medical and anaesthetic history
  • Performing clinical observations such as height and weight, blood pressure, temperature, heart rate and oxygen saturations
  • Completing various clinical assessments such as listening to
    their chest
• To complete or arrange any required tests or investigations which may be needed to try to prevent any avoidable delays or cancellations for surgery.
  • Possible investigations include:
    • ECG
    • Swabs
    • Bloods tests
    • Urine samples
  • Please note we will always try and accommodate these on the day however this may not always be possible.
• To discuss what will happen on the day including the anaesthetic procedure and answer any questions you or your child may have
• Identify any reasonable adjustments that may needed to be made to best support your child on the day and prior to surgery. This may include a referral to our specialist play team or focussed support team
• To plan your child’s admission to ensure it runs as smoothly as possible

Screening Questionnaire

Before your child’s appointment, you will be asked to complete a screening questionnaire – this can be completed on the myMFT app (parents you will require proxy access to this) or by telephone with a member of our scheduling team. This is an important step, as our nurses will review the answers provided to allocate your child to the most appropriate clinic.

After completion of the questionnaire, the scheduling team will contact you with appointment details by letter/telephone/text.

Your appointment:

When you arrive for your appointment, you will need to book in at the reception desk in the Children’s Outpatients Department which is located on the ground floor of the hospital. Once checked in you will be signposted to either a clinic room within the Outpatient Department or the ‘animal room’ which is located on the second floor, Ward 84C.

In order to obtain accurate medical history, your child should be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian.

The appointment usually takes around 35-45 minutes, however your child may need to attend other departments for further investigation.

Please note clinics run all day, therefore late arrival could lead to the appointment having to be rescheduled. Please allow time for parking as the car parks can be very busy throughout the day. If you are running late, please let us know as soon as possible.

What to bring:

If your child is under different specialties at hospitals other than Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, it is useful if you could bring copies of their most recent clinic letters. If applicable, please bring your child’s red book.

If your child is on medication, please bring a list of the medication name, frequency, dosage and strength. Please make sure that on the day of surgery you bring all medications including any inhalers and spacers.

Anaesthetic Clinic

There are usually one or two anaesthetic clinics each week where children will be assessed by one of the Consultant Anaesthetists. These clinics are predominantly aimed at children with a more complicated background and are typically referred via the nurses or directly by the surgical team.

It may be that after your child’s nurse appointment they may need further input from the consultant anaesthetists prior to surgery but this will be discussed with you.

Play Department

If your child has learning difficulties, behavioural problems, or is particularly anxious about their admission, we can discuss this in clinic and it may be suitable for them to have a play referral completed. Please note that this is a Monday-Friday service.

Children with ASD and LD

For children with a diagnosis of ASD or who request reasonable adjustments please let us know.

We may also be able to arrange for play specialist input however this is not always possible. Please enquire with the scheduling team regarding this at the time of booking.

If your child has a diagnosis of ASD and struggles with busy areas, there is a sensory room in the OPD waiting room. Please ask at the front desk about accessing this.

Below are some resources that may be useful for your child both for the Pre-Admission appointment and on the day of surgery:

Interpreter

Please let us know if you would like an interpreter for you or your child during the appointment. If possible, a face-to-face interpreter is arranged however we also use a telephone-based translation service. It is Trust policy that we do not use the patient/family friend/relative to translate.

Location

Pre Admissions Department
Ward 84c
Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital
Oxford Rd
Manchester
M13 9WL

Department of Paediatric Anaesthesia
Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital
Oxford Rd
Manchester
M13 9WL

Please be aware your surgery may be at an alterative site to your pre-operative appointment. Please read all information carefully before attending.

Opening Hours

07.30-18.00 Monday to Friday
Clinics by appointment only

Contact Details

For Nursing enquiries please contact 0161 276 5130. Please be aware this number is not always manned, and response times may vary.

For appointment enquiries or to enquire about wait times please contact our scheduling team on 0161 701 0786