If your child has a fever, diarrhoea, wheezing, or vomiting in the days leading up to surgery, please call us. We’ll let you know if we need to delay their surgery or if there’s other treatment they may need.
Call our booking office on 07 3068 1125 between 7 am and 5 pm, Monday to Friday.
If you’re running late on the day of your appointment, please call our surgical admission lounge on 07 3068 1790.
Talking to your child about surgery
Explaining what’s going to happen in hospital can help your child feel more comfortable and less anxious.
Our operating theatre and day surgery video shows what to expect when you're having an operation. You can show your child what an operating room looks like and who will be in the room with them.
There is more information how to talk to your child about their surgery at the EPIC website.
To also help your child understand and prepare for their operation read Jilly's big sleep.
Before surgery
Getting clean
Your child needs to be clean for surgery to reduce their risk of getting an infection. They can have a bath or a shower, but you’ll need to make sure they’ve washed all over using soap.
Make sure you give these areas a good wash.
Make sure the following areas are clean because they're often used during surgery for medical procedures.
Hair - important if your child is having a head or face operation
Chest or tummy area – important if this is where the surgeons will operate
Underarms – a moist area where germs can easily grow
Elbow crease – a common place for infusions
Groin or nappy area – sometimes used for a urinary catheter (thin plastic tube placed in the bladder) after an operation
Hands and feet – veins in the hands and feet are often used for giving medications and fluids
Belly button – a moist area where germs can grow and sometimes used for keyhole surgery
Neck and behind the ears – some children will get fluids or medicine through a vein in the neck
You’ll also need to check your child’s hair for head lice. If you find any, please treat them before going to hospital.
Check your child’s skin
Check your child’s skin for any infections, cuts, and abrasions. This includes things like nappy rash, or a scrape from falling off a bike. Let us know if you find any in case we need to cover them for surgery.
If they have any piercings, jewellery, or are wearing nail polish or makeup, they’ll need to be removed before they go to hospital.
Fasting before a procedure
Fasting makes it safer for the anaesthetist to get your child off to sleep for their procedure.
Fasting means that your child will need to stop eating and drinking for a period of time before their procedure.
Eating
Make sure your child doesn’t eat any food or drink any non-human milk for at least 6 hours before their procedure. This includes eating lollies or chewing gum.
Drinking
Breast Milk
If your baby has breast milk, plan to finish feeding your baby as close to 3 hours before the time of their procedure time as possible. Do not add thickeners.
Infant Formula
If your baby has infant formula, plan to finish feeding your baby as close to 4 hours before the time of their procedure as possible. Do not add thickeners.
Clear Fluids
All children are encouraged to drink clear fluids until you arrive at the hospital. Nursing staff may offer your child more to drink as you wait for their procedure.
The clear fluids your child can choose from are:
water
clear (pulp-free) fruit juices and cordials such as apple juice
non-carbonated drinks such as Powerade or Gatorade
clear carbonated drinks such as lemonade
ready to mix sugar and electrolyte powders, including SOS, Poly-Joule, Carb Plus and Hydralyte.
Please do not give your child any other type of drinks.
Medications
Your child can still take their regular medication with a sip of water or another clear fluid while they’re fasting.
Help with fasting
Fasting can be confusing, so to help you fast properly, one of our nurses will call you the business day before the surgery to help you if you have any questions. They will also give you the approximate time your child’s surgery is booked in for and they will tell you the time when your child needs to start fasting from.
If you have not fasted properly, you may have to wait longer on the day for your surgery, or you have your surgery postponed to another day.
Dress your child in clean, loose-fitting clothing with no metal buttons or zips. It’s better if they wear a t-shirt and shorts or pyjamas as they’re easier to take on and off. Put something warmer over the top if they need it.
They’ll need to wear shoes inside the hospital.
What to bring
Make sure you bring your hospital admission forms with you.
It’s also a good idea to bring something for them to do, such as a book or colouring in pencils as there’s usually a wait before surgery.
Your hospital admission letter will tell you which part of the hospital to go to. When you get there let reception staff know you’ve arrived. We’ll then ask you to fill in your admission forms.
We’ll do some other health checks before surgery, such as taking your child’s blood pressure, heart rate and temperature. You can stay with them while they have these done.
Your child’s clinical team, including the anaesthetist and doctor may then see your child.
Going to theatre
When it’s time for your child’s operation, one parent or carer will be given a gown or clothes to put on to take them into theatre.
During the operation you’ll be able to wait in a parent lounge. We have surgical information boards in the lounges and the hospital food court so you’ll be able to see when their surgery has finished.
One parent may be able to join them in the recovery area afterwards. After recovery, they’ll be moved to a ward.
