32 VESPA – virtual electronic support for procedural anxiety

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood 2020-11, Vol.105 (Suppl 2), p.A11-A11
• Main Authors: Stylianou, Mike, Carver, Harriet, Henwood, Sophie, Davies, Ben
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analgesia; Anxiety; Children; Continuity of care; COVID-19; Decision making; Hospitals; Nosocomial infection; Pain perception; Patient education; Patients; Pediatrics; Virtual reality
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2020-gosh.32

Hospital visits can induce stress and anxiety in the most resilient children and their families, negatively impacting on a child’s hospital experience in any number of ways.Procedure-related anxiety may negatively affect compliance with treatment, on relationships with healthcare professionals, increase their requirement for analgesia and medication generally, delay recovery and healing, impair their thinking and decision-making processes and in many cases this will have a long lasting negative effect. In some cases the effects may be lifelong or transgenerational.To mitigate the impact of nosocomial and procedural anxiety Great Ormond Street Hospital has invited children, families and friends to visit the operating theatres prior to treatment. Children are supported by staff and encouraged to interact with authentic equipment and ask ANY questions, have any of their concerns addressed, and meet the staff, the visits are designed to be informative innoculative but predominately informative and fun.Face- to-face theatre visits have been a great success, to date we have conducted over 300 individual and group visits, however with the advent of COVID 19 and the inherent changes in practise we have been unable to deliver theatre tours and visits.These changes in circumstance have lead us to develop VESPA. VESPA allows our patients to interact with the hospital and staff from the safety of Home. Video allows a safe space for communication, we have found this not to be barrier to children asking questions, airing their concerns and seeking advice. It allows continuity of care, support and communication at very low cost the ‘video call’ is a technology that most children are familiar with. The patients need for support has not changed but the manner in which we can support patients has. VESPA is affordable, sustainable, effective and environmentally gentle.