There are opportunities for us to improve the quality and consistency of children’s emergency surgical services and to reduce the time it takes for children to get the right care. Some of the areas where we feel there are opportunities to improve children’s emergency surgery, include:
- Services for children’s emergency surgery are currently inconsistent and unclear meaning staff often spend a lot of time finding a hospital that can deliver care in an emergency.
- Not all hospitals have the same types and number of specialists who are able to operate on very young children, so they can’t treat children consistently.
- Some hospitals see very small numbers of children for certain types of surgery, making it difficult for staff to learn and practice specialist skills.