Kids Tell Pain To Buzz Off With Innovative New Technology

Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity Press releases

AmeliaAn Edinburgh based charity has funded an innovative new technology in Edinburgh hospitals which helps ease the pain of injections for children.

Designed to look like a bee and appropriately named Buzzy, the impressive equipment eliminates or dulls the sharp pain of injections by confusing the body’s own nerves and distracting attention away from the needle.

The Sick Kids Friends Foundation (SKFF), which supports and complements the work of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) in Edinburgh, recently allocated just under £2,000 of funding to supply 43 Buzzy kits across different department in the hospital which provide a drug free pain relief for children.

Imogen Kelly, Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology Nurse Specialist at the RHSC said: “Buzzy is absolutely fantastic. It’s a very cute vibrating bee with ice pack wings which decreases sharp pain, so it is great for the children.

“Rheumatology patients often have to have weekly injections, so it’s a fantastic way of making these as painless as possible.

“Most importantly they are fun and they are a distraction for kids who unfortunately have to spend a lot of time receiving jabs.”

Used for children aged up to 18, SKFF have provided the RHSC with Buzzy kits in the Diabetes department, Surgical Day Case Unit and the Asthma clinic as well as funding a distraction kit for the Children’s Ward at St John’s.

Pippa Johnston, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at SKFF, said: “The SKFF exist to transform the experiences of children and young people in hospital so they can be a child first and a patient second and the Buzzy kits fit perfectly into this aim.

“Receiving an injection can be not only painful for a child but also very frightening. We are delighted we have been able to supply this equipment in so many departments at the RHSC to try and better these experiences as much as possible.”

SKFF distributes around £1.5m per year at RHSC and other children and young people’s community healthcare settings.