Keeping kids calm and cared for at RDHM
The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne has transformed its paediatric area to create a more welcoming space for children.
Stepping into the labyrinthine halls of the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne can be an intimidating experience for young kids.
That’s why Head of Paediatric Dentistry, Daniel Andreasen-Cocker, set out with his team to enhance the space and foster a more relaxed atmosphere for children and their families.
“We know there’s evidence that changing the colours of a hospital can help calm people down and help them feel more at ease – just like the green wall downstairs,” said Dan.
“We trialled some other options initially,” said Dan, pointing out previous ‘Where’s Wally’ posters and the remnants of a larger-than-life tree poster on the walls of one of the rooms.
“We decided it was time to do something that would have more of an impact.”
Introduced in June, the images featuring pleasant scenes such as jungles and marine life have already made a positive impact. They distract children from the sterile environment of the hospital space and help them feel more at ease during their visits.
“It’s helping to speed up the process of building trust and rapport with young patients. Parents are also receptive to it and their overall satisfaction has increased.
“Even for them to see the hospital look different and more child-friendly, helps to reinforce that we prioritse children’s needs, in addition to the clinical treatment they receive.”
The murals work in tandem with the overhead televisions that were previously installed above the dental chairs in paediatrics.
Introduced in June, the images featuring pleasant scenes such as jungles and marine life have already made a positive impact. They distract children from the sterile environment of the hospital space and help them feel more at ease during their visits.
“It’s helping to speed up the process of building trust and rapport with young patients. Parents are also receptive to it and their overall satisfaction has increased.
“Even for them to see the hospital look different and more child-friendly, helps to reinforce that we prioritse children’s needs, in addition to the clinical treatment they receive.”
The murals work in tandem with the overhead televisions that were previously installed above the dental chairs in paediatrics.
“Small but significant changes like this have a massive impact on young kids. It’s a clinical hypnosis. They are so single-focused on the TV that everything else falls away – their brain doesn’t concentrate on anything else around them.
“When we combine that with nitrous oxide sedation, we can now treat some children who we previously would have had to send to receive general anaesthetic. That’s obviously much more invasive and incurs a larger cost.”
Many parents have expressed surprise at the effectiveness of this approach.
“Some parents are convinced their child can only receive treatment one way and will say, ‘My kid needs to be put to sleep, there’s nothing else you can do’, whereas this gives us the opportunity to demonstrate there are other options. It’s helped some parents become more receptive and supportive.”
The improved spaces also have a flow-on effect for our clinical staff.
“It feels like more of a professional and inviting space for us to deliver world-class care. Even though it’s technically ‘kiddie stuff’, it helps to feel like more of a contemporary healthcare environment."
