New sensory rooms and trauma stream address gaps in paediatric care

Two new approaches to care in Osler’s Child and Adolescent (CHAD) Mental Health Program are yielding positive results thanks to the ‘just do it’ attitude of the Clinical Services Manager and her interprofessional team.

In Fall 2024, the team introduced a Trauma Stream for children and youth, and in late November, opened Sensory Rooms in the four-bed Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and in the Adolescent Intensive Day (AID) Program, a ground-breaking program made possible thanks to support from the Tour de Bleu cycling event hosted by Mattamy Homes and the Peter Gilgan Foundation.

The Trauma Stream, a rarity in a community hospital setting, is a 16-week program and a much-needed addition in a region with few hospital-based or community supports for those under 18 years of age experiencing the impacts of a traumatic experience. And for those available, there was a two-year wait list.

Based on patient-rated outcome measures the team regularly monitors, they noticed that they weren’t seeing much improvement before and after counselling with certain patients being treated for anxiety and depression. Through further analysis, they discovered it was because they weren’t treating the root cause – trauma.

“Trauma isn’t a mental health diagnosis, but the anxiety and depression it can generate are,” said Navpreet Cheema, Clinical Services Manager, CHAD. “After exploring several evidence-based options for trauma support, we landed on a psychotherapy treatment called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, which has been shown to be highly effective in treating children and youth with depression, panic disorders, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).”

The team currently has four clinicians trained in EMDR and four patients who have completed the Trauma Stream to date with good results. In March of this year, Osler opened the stream to the Region of Peel, filling a much-needed gap for this service in the region.

“Key partners, including physicians, the CHAD Council, Osler’s Evidence-Based Practice Committee, patient and family advisors and community partners love this approach and are so excited we launched this stream.”

Navpreet is equally excited about the positive impacts the Sensory Rooms are having on high-risk children and youth receiving treatment in the PICU and AID. They came about after analyzing escalating Code Whites in the PICU.

“The Sensory Rooms are therapeutic spaces that offer a safe space for patients who are highly agitated, anxious or having difficulty managing their feelings and emotions,” noted Navpreet. “It’s a quiet space that facilitates the therapeutic alliance between the staff and patients, providing opportunities for engagement, prevention and crisis de-escalation strategies, while also promoting self-care, resilience and recovery.”

The rooms, equipped with bean bags, mats, weighted stuffed animals, sensory tiles and sensory toys, are calming spaces with blue skies, puffy white clouds, rainbows and stars projected on the walls and ceiling. Here, team members, including nurses, child and youth counselors, occupational therapists and recreation therapists work with patients from five to 18 years of age on yoga, breathing techniques and mindful meditation. The rooms are also used by some patients to ‘chill out’ before bedtime to promote a relaxing sleep.

Combined with other calming strategies the team began implementing in the weeks prior to introduction of the Sensory Rooms, their ‘last resort’ use of restraints has decreased by 52 per cent, and response from children and youth in the program has been extremely positive.

“I tell my team every day that there is no barrier too great that can’t be overcome when it comes to addressing the needs of our paediatric patient population. These are two fine examples of how quality improvement is making a difference in our patients’ lives.”