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Many surgeons operate on children as part of their role, but how many have had specialist training in generic paediatric skills to manage their care in the most effective way? 

Paediatric surgical care across all specialties has become increasingly centralised to specialist centres over recent years.   This can result in decreased paediatric exposure for surgical teams in non-specialist centres and the loss of confidence in conducting appropriate secondary level surgical care close to home.  All hospitals can face paediatric surgical emergency care and may take paediatric elective surgical referrals.  In specialist centres, surgical teams may have paediatric emergency commitments that they do not meet in day-to-day practice.  

It is important that the surgical teams across all specialties feel confident with the issues that are unique to paediatrics to enable them to deliver high quality and safe care.  

Understanding these issues are also core foundations to the training of every surgeon. 

To meet this need we developed with the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ a unique course to bridge these gaps and to improve the quality and safety of surgical care for children.  This course offers a one-day focused training in paediatric aspects of surgical care delivered by an expert faculty of paediatricians, surgeons, psychologists and anaesthetists.  It is suitable for consultants, trainees and specialty doctors. 

Using focused lectures on key knowledge objectives and interactive small group case-based discussions, this course equips surgeons who treat children with paediatric knowledge and skills to enable them to deal with paediatric surgical care confidently and safely. 

Delegates after attending this course have improved in their ability to:

• Place their own paediatric surgical practice within a regional and national context

• Appropriately manage shared decision-making and consent in a paediatric setting

• Communicate effectively with paediatric patients

• Understand how to manage the deteriorating child 

• Discuss the issues around children with disabilities and how best to meet their needs

• Explain the responsibilities for child protection in surgical care

• Discuss the differences between paediatric and adult trauma

• Describe latest developments in paediatric anaesthesia and how these impact on appropriate listing of surgical patients and the surgery undertaken (age, safety, pre-assessment, pain) 

The course launched in 2021 with an online delivery which had outstanding feedback: 

We have had two further successful online courses, and a webinar which was well attended.   

Over 150 surgeons have had access to the insights and tips from our expert faculty.  Delegates have ranged from early year resident doctors looking to establish the basics of paediatric care in their practice, to senior consultants keen to understand how they can develop or continue to offer high standards of safe paediatric perioperative care. 

We are working with the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ on a face-to-face format for the course in addition to online versions.  Look out for the latest details about the next courses on the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ website and bulletin.