MCH’s new Surgical Day Centre is up and running

By Lisa Dutton
 
The Montreal Children’s Hospital has officially opened its new Surgical Day Centre on 7C2. The centre is a merger of all nursing pre-surgical services including pre-op clinic (formerly located on B-250), the Alternative Care Module (formerly located in C-737) and some plastic and general surgery clinical activities.
 
The new Surgical Day Centre includes six examination rooms, a treatment room, a reception area and a large waiting area. Its mission is to prepare patients for surgery including day surgery, to perform some assessment, procedure, post-surgical care and to be a resource for parents and patients post-op. On certain days, the Child Life department provides activities to children in order to make their visit a pleasant one.
 
“We are only one phone call away for our patients and families who might have a question or concern after surgery,” says Helene Rainville. “Sometimes they can ask the simplest of questions, but they are very relieved when an experienced nurse or health professional is there to help.”
 
“The major benefit of this merger is that patients are now treated by the same team from pre-op to post-op,” says Nadia Eldaoud, the Clinical Manager of the Surgical Day Centre. “In addition, we can now offer patients and families a lot more space and privacy where before the ACM was very crowded.” 
 
Ms. Eldaoud also points out that because of the new environment and organization, the Surgical Day Centre has a larger team so there is much more flexibility in organizing the patient activities so that the wait times are optimally managed and the workload for the nurses is more easily addressed on those very busy days.
 
The work flow and team work in the Surgical Day Centre is an example of how health professionals will collaborate once the MCH moves to its new hospital on the Glen Site. In the our new hospital the Surgical Day Centre will be located on the 3rd floor of block B and will be part of the pediatric interventional platform which will include the surgical suites of the main OR, the cardiac catheterization suite, an expanded PACU and an endoscopy and procedure rooms.
 
Currently, the new Surgical Day Centre on 7C2 will be open from Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 
Photo: The new Surgical Day Centre team.
 
First row (l. to r.): Nadia Eldaoud, Martine Lestage, Sabrina Drudi, Thao Le, Anna-Maria Bonilla. Second row: Hélène Rainville, Linda Blanchard, Sandra Safulko and Farah Jean-Charles.
 
Absent from the picture are: Hélène Pelletier and Julie-Ann Doucet