Animated support
The National Paediatric Toolkit
When you are having hospital treatment, the size of bowl you are given to be sick in may seem trivial. But for children receiving cancer chemotherapy, bowls that were too small are a big source of indignity and frustration.
This piece of information was elicited from young patients with the help of an animated character called Fabio the Frog. Fabio is one of a series created in a computerised survey tool called the National Paediatric Toolkit, developed by Alder Hey Children's NHS Trust in Merseyside in partnership with a specialist firm, Priority Research.
The animated characters capture the attention of young patients and guide them through a series of age-appropriate questionnaires on a hand-held computer.
"We're using the information we gain to modernise services in line with what children want," says Moya Sutton, executive nurse at Alder Hey. As well as increasing the size of sick bowls, the trust has also used the information to transform its ward catering after finding that sick children did not like regular mealtimes. "They wanted to eat when they felt like it. We took that really seriously and recruited two chefs. The children now eat what they want, when they want."
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National Paedriatic Toolklit: nptoolkit.com