Leeds Children’s Hospital delivers hundreds of extra appointments and trials new technology on Super Saturday
and live on Freeview channel 276
Following the first Super Saturday event in October 2021, this Super Saturday will see Leeds Children’s Hospital staff running extra clinics and additional theatres for patients in order to reduce waiting times for treatments.
Staff are also using the day to pilot innovative new ways of working such as virtual reality distraction therapy (VRDT) to improve long-term efficiency, creating faster access to services in Leeds.
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Hide AdSuper Saturday activity takes place as part of the National Paediatric Accelerator Programme, an initiative designed to bring together NHS trusts to tackle waiting lists inflated by the impact of the pandemic.
Leeds Children’s Hospital joins other leading specialist children’s hospitals including Great Ormond Street, Alder Hey, Birmingham and Manchester Children’s Hospital, following the success of the first Super Saturday event in October 2021.
Working with colleagues across Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the team plans to deliver over 200 additional outpatient appointments and perform 28 operations on Super Saturday.
These initiatives, designed to immediately reduce waiting times for children and young people in Leeds, include additional clinics for asthma, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, gastroenterology and endocrinology.
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Hide AdOther aspects include Play Specialist-led workshops supporting children to make the transition from liquid to tablet medicines, Mini-Mouth-Care-Matters dental hygiene workshops, a ‘hospital passport’ for patients with additional needs and an exciting trial of Virtual Reality Distraction Therapy (VRDT).
Research into the application of VRDT at Leeds Children’s Hospital is in partnership with Starlight Children’s Foundation.
On Super Saturday patients undergoing minor surgical procedures will be offered VRDT delivered by Play Specialists using cutting edge VR headset technology.
VRDT is intended to reduce anxiety and provide distraction - removing the need for a more disruptive general anaesthetic, making the procedure safer and more relaxing for the patient whilst also reducing the length of the hospital stay.
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Hide AdMohammed Al Tuamah, 15, is one of the patients who will benefit from VRDT on Super Saturday when he has a surgical procedure to remove an ingrown toenail.
Mohammed, from Leeds, is pleased to be invited for his procedure so quickly, thanks to extra theatre capacity created by Super Saturday - he’s looking forward to getting back to playing football and basketball as soon as possible.
Although nervous about the procedure Mohammed is looking forward to experimenting with VR and because he won’t be under a general anaesthetic his hospital stay will be much shorter.
Mr Naved Alizai is the surgeon performing the procedure and he explains the benefits of VRTD for patients like Mohammed.
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