Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine
Who we are
PCH provides the only specialist anaesthesia and acute pain medicine service for children and adolescents in Western Australia.
Conditions we manage
Our work involves assessment, administration and monitoring of paediatric anaesthesia to ensure that patients are safe and comfortable before, during and after their surgery.
We also provide pain management services to help relieve the shorter-term discomfort that children may experience following surgical procedures, injuries and other conditions.
Long-term relief of pain related to a child’s chronic illness or injury is managed by the Complex Pain Service.
Services we provide
The PCH Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine provides:
- Anaesthetic services for all children’s surgery at PCH, both general (whole body) and regional (when only a certain part of the body goes numb)
- Anaesthetic services, when required, for children’s diagnostic imaging
- A sedation service
- 24-hour acute pain management
- 24-hour support for cases such as trauma and acute patient deterioration
- Anaesthetic services for children having specific procedures in other WA hospitals
- Central venous access service (a special catheter used to administer medications for extended periods)
- Engagement in a research program with other children’s hospitals across the world, enabling our patients to benefit from advances in anaesthesia and pain medicine.
Referrals
Most patients having surgery at PCH are assessed by anaesthetists on the day of the procedure. We also run a Pre-operative Anaesthesia Assessment Clinic for patients who are referred for review prior to the day of surgery.