Children in Accident and Emergency

Principles of Emergency Care for Children and Young People

“…This, however, needs to be done simultaneously with an assessment of the child's developmental age and cognitive skills. This may present a picture of a screaming, uncooperative child or a quiet, withdrawn and unhappy one (Dolan 1997;Lanning 1985). It should be remembered that the emergency department may be the child's first experience of a hospital environment (RCN 1998).…”

“…• Use age-appropriate language (Dolan 1997). Assess the child's cognitive developmental stage and beware of ambiguity, e.g.…”