Charlotte’s story: Visiting the Emergency Department

Say hello to seven year old Charlotte from Sheffield!

She arrived at the Emergency Department (ED) with her mum – who was celebrating her birthday – after a trip to the zoo unfortunately ended in a broken arm. Charlotte had swung across the monkey bars a few times before slipping off and landing awkwardly.

Her mum, Lindsey, said: “Being a nurse I picked her up and asked her to move her fingers but I knew she was in pain, with the way she held her elbow and was protecting it.

“We drove home and came straight to Sheffield Children’s, where it was very spaced out to help keep everyone safe from COVID-19.”

Charlotte was understandably nervous before being seen by our team in the ED. However, the dedicated team in the department, which saw 58,721 patients last year, were ready to help.

Lindsey said: “The nurse we initially saw in triage was fab and then we saw the doctor and I can’t tell you how well he reassured my scared little girl when he needed to examine her.”

Lindsey and Charlotte then visited Radiology – “they were fab as well!” – before returning to the ED.

“The doctor showed Charlotte her X-rays and the frightened little girl had gone and she was asking him all sorts of questions. Even the team plastered Charlotte’s arm were calming and explained what they were doing all the time.

“I couldn’t fault our children’s hospital and the excellent care we received.”

Thank you for sharing your story Charlotte – we hope you’ve not been put off playgrounds too much!