THERE have been renewed calls for a Mobile Sensory Room to be brought to the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children.
Sinn Féin representatives have been engaging with the campaign group NI Community for Parents/Carers of Children with Complex Needs, alongside the Belfast Trust leadership and the Minister of Health, regarding the implementation of a dedicated sensory room in the Emergency Department of the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children.
A delegation of Sinn Féin MLAs raised the issue with the Belfast Trust in September and highlighted the benefits of a mobile sensory room in the Children’s Emergency Department. It recently received unanimous cross-party support at an adjournment debate in the Assembly and is supported by a petition that has generated over 1,000 signatures.
The hospital serves as the regional centre for paediatric care across the North, and on average 34,000 children attend its emergency department each year.
Many of these children live with complex medical needs including autism, ADHD or other sensory processing difficulties. For them, the bright lights, noise, and overcrowding of an emergency department can be completely overwhelming, turning an already stressful situation into a traumatic one.
Craigavon mum Erin McAllister, founder of the campaign group, said the call for a sensory room began after parents shared their struggles.
"I started this campaign after having a discussion in our group with parents about how incredibly difficult A&E trips are for their children with complex sensory, social, emotional and behavioural needs," she explained. "Many parents avoid bringing their child to A&E due to this which puts lives in danger. A&E is very overstimulating and scary. To the outside eye our children may look like they're throwing a tantrum, but they aren’t.
"They are having a full blown sensory meltdown, their entire system is unable to cope and being flooded with harmful stress hormones which leads to self harming, violent outbursts and a decline in their already poor physical health.
“A sensory room would change the lives of thousands of children and their families every year. I am so pleased to have cross-party support and to hear that the Health Minister has listened to our concerns and is working at pace to facilitate a space."
While a sensory room cannot be installed inside the Emergency Department at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children at present due to the lack of space, the Department of Health are currently engaging with a charity to procure a mobile sensory room to locate in the vicinity of the Emergency Department and are hopeful that this will be available in the coming months.
West Belfast MLA Órlaithí Flynn said: “As a representative for West Belfast, I have heard directly from parents and carers whose children have experienced significant distress in these clinical environments.
"A sensory room, that is a quiet, dimly lit, calming space with appropriate sensory equipment would make a real difference. It would help children feel safe and settled, allow parents to communicate more effectively with staff, and ease pressure on healthcare teams working in an extremely demanding environment.
“I welcome the progress outlined by the Department and the Belfast Trust, including plans to expand clinical space and the introduction of a mobile sensory room near the Emergency Department. However, that should be viewed only as the first step towards a permanent, purpose-built facility within the hospital itself.
“Our children deserve care that meets their needs, delivered with dignity, compassion and understanding. A dedicated sensory room would be a small but powerful step in achieving that goal.”
