When your child wakes up

After the procedure, your child will either be taken to the recovery ward. The ward may be different depending on if you are going home that day or if you are staying in hospital that night. The nurses will point out where they are.

When your child first arrives in the recovery room, they are likely to still be waking up from their anaesthetic. At this stage, they need careful observation and care.

This is done by a specialist recovery nurse who will also look after any further needs for pain medicine or medicine to deal with any nausea or vomiting.

As soon as your child starts waking up a bit more, the nursing staff will find you and bring you to your child as they continue to recover from the anaesthetic. Only two family members per child are allowed into the recovery room.

Some children wake up distressed even if they were calm going off to sleep. This is most common in preschool children, those who have had multiple previous procedures, and where the child or parent is very anxious. Most distress is due to waking up in an unfamiliar place and will settle with reassurance from parents. 

Most children remain in the recovery room for 30 minutes to one hour before either going to the ward or going to the discharge lounge.