In recent years there has been an increased awareness of perioperative stress in children undergoing anaesthesia. It is estimated that 50-75% of children develop significant anxiety before their surgery, which is shown to be consistent regardless of country, procedure or healthcare system.
We offer a number of paediatric products to assist in distracting and relaxing a child undergoing anaesthesia, which can be identified by the Baggins the Bear design. The Baggins the Bear design is also incorporated into a collection of supporting material that has been developed to help ease children’s journey through their hospital stay and when undergoing anaesthesia.
The collection consists of a story and activity book, poster, bravery certificate and a video which animates the story book. Read on to find out more about each supporting material and how it can assist a child undergoing anaesthesia.
Baggins hospital journey and activity book
Baggins story and activity book tells the story of the character Baggins the Bear being admitted into hospital, undergoing a general anaesthetic and his journey through the hospital, and includes some fun activities and colouring sections at the back.
The book can assist in explaining to a child their forthcoming hospital stay, by detailing some of the processes and equipment they may encounter when going into hospital for an operation.
The book is available to download and print locally, or you can request printed versions from your local office.
Can you spot Baggins poster?
A large Baggins poster is available which can be placed within the pre-procedure or operating room. By seeing Baggins the Bear on the reservoir bag, or APL valve and counting 'how many Baggins' on the poster, it can help distract and relax a child who is undergoing an anaesthetic process.
Contact your local office to receive your A1 laminated poster or download the poster to print locally.
Baggins hospital journey video
To support the story and activity book, we also offer an animated video of Baggins' hospital journey so that children can visualise what they may experience. This could prove especially helpful for younger children who cannot quite read the book themselves.
You can watch the video using the link below, on our YouTube channel and through our product and Education pages on our website.
Baggins bravery certificate
Once a child has undergone a surgical procedure and is back on the ward, we offer a bravery certificate to acknowledge their huge achievement and bravery during their hospital stay.
You can download your own full colour and black/white printable versions using the links below or pre-printed copies can be requested via your local office.
Download Baggins the bear certificate - full colour version
Download Baggins the bear certificate - black and white version
Baggins supporting products
When a child reaches the anaesthetic room, Baggins can be found on our reservoir bags available as an individual product or as part of a system and on our APL valves.
Seeing Baggins also on the anaesthetic product will further enhance a child’s familiarity with Baggins and support them throughout all stages of their hospital journey.
View the infant T-piece anaesthetic breathing system range
View the bagging system range View the reservoir bag range
Baggins the bear case study
Lisa Morgan from the Freeman Hospital who has worked with and adapted our Baggins the bear collection over the recent years for her hospital and has achieved such positive results from the patients, parents/carers and the industry.
Lisa won the RCNi award in 2020 for her work following this and we had the opportunity to speak to Lisa about her Baggins experience and her award win.
Why did you initially start to introduce the Baggins the bear material?
'Baggins was already here when I started working in paediatrics’ but it was just given to patients or their families at the end of the procedure. When I observed the care families had when they arrived at theatre I felt that we were unsure of the family dynamics and could only offer minimal support. I wanted to give a personal experience and began to visit the child and family prior to arriving to the operating theatre so I could answer any questions and would be able to put the patient and parents/carer at ease. Using Baggins is an icebreaker for me, I can explain exactly what is going to happen using Baggins to show the mask and monitoring that we will do in theatre'.
How do you use the Baggins the bear material?
'The Baggins book shows the journey a child would take to theatre and the people they may see along the way. This is information that both the child and parent can read together and have as a keepsake. I still use this even for a baby as the information I use is guided towards the parent/carer and as the child grows older it can explain what they had actually gone through to help understand their cardiac surgery'.
Can you share your thoughts on winning the RCNi awards last year, for the Healthcare Assistant Award category?
'Winning the award last year has been the highlight of my nursing career. For me to be recognised of the work I have put into our family connections and the outcome it achieves was amazing. I had so many people contact me after the awards for ideas of how to improve theatre practice which shows that Baggins isn't just a bear - he is a legend!!!'
To find out more about our Baggins the Bear products and supporting material or to just ask a question please get in touch
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