Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
At Spencer Private Hospitals we provide a unique and personable experience for the children and young people who come for surgery with us. Our paediatric team have a wealth of knowledge and experience caring for children and young people with SEND in a hospital setting and also working with children and young people in school and nursery settings.
At Pre-Assessment the paediatric nurse will ensure they take as much information to get to know your child.
We will offer tools such as photos, communication cards and an appointment for yourself and your child to come and visit us in the hospital to show you around, meet the team and explain what will happen on the day of surgery as part of preparation for the surgery date.
On the day of surgery we will be led by you (as you know your child best!) and ensure your child feels comfortable and settled. We will provide age appropriate distractions, however, we do encourage you to bring in resources that your child is familiar with to provide emotional support, act as a communication aid and also to make your child feel more relaxed being in an unfamiliar setting.
Our team members, including the anaesthetist, theatre staff and recovery staff, are all experienced in caring for children with additional individual needs and can provide support by dimming the lights in the room, minimal touch and ensuring limited sensory stimulation. They will also provide information and updates of your child whilst they are undergoing surgery.
We appreciate the stress and worry that goes into preparing your child for surgery so please know you can contact us with any questions / worries you may have. We pride ourselves in working with yourselves as parents and your children to ensure everyone has a positive experience.
Parent Feedback
“Spencer Private Hospital have been outstanding, our son has additional needs and is really anxious in medical environments, they went above and beyond to support him both prior to and on the day of his operation. The support we received as a family was first class - from the paediatric nursing team who completed the Pre-Assessment, provided photos of the room, talked me through the process step by step, so I knew how to prepare our little boy, to the anaesthetist who called beforehand as I was extraordinarily anxious. And finally, the surgeon who operated on our son - an expert in his field. The whole team on the day were incredible, they listened, were informative and they absolutely treated our little boy with care, kindness and respect. I have nothing but high praise for the whole team. The operation was a success and we are so grateful to everyone who made it possible.”