Supporting George

George* was born prematurely and has a rare condition known as subglottic stenosis bilateral vocal palsy, which means he has no airway.

Due to this, he has a tracheostomy, which is a procedure to help air and oxygen reach the lungs by creating an opening into the trachea (windpipe) from outside the neck.

George also requires Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) feeding, which is a medical procedure that involves inserting a feeding tube into the stomach through the abdominal wall.

In addition, he has a shunt inserted for hydrocephalus, a visual impairment, right sided hearing loss, seizure like activity and chronic lung disease.

Despite all his medical issues, George is a happy, smiling little boy and Caremark Rotherham & Sheffield were honoured to be asked to support him with his clinical and personal needs and to enable him to attend school on a regular basis.

Initially, we spent time getting to know George in his own home with support from his Mum and his Community Health Team. They are the people who know him the best and are therefore our best teachers!

Each of our Support Workers spent time really getting to know George to ensure the care we provide was person-centred to his exact needs. They were approved on managing his tracheostomy and are able to support him within his school environment, enabling him to continue his school education just like any other child of his age.

The team have also been specifically trained specifically to support George with his seizures. They can identify different types of seizure activity and are able to administer his rescue medication – Buccal Midazolam, where needed.

This is a huge relief for his Mum knowing that he will be in safe hands whenever he is in his school setting in the care of our Support Workers.

The Community Clinical Lead Nurse from the Rotherham Clinical Commissioning Group said this about the support we provide to George:

“I have received some very positive feedback about the two Support Workers who work with George. He has some really clinical complex needs, and they interact really well with him and come across as really competent in the care they provide.”

Everyone at Caremark Rotherham & Sheffield is proud to continue training, interacting with and supporting George on a day-to-day basis and seeing him thrive within school along with his peers.

*Name changed to protect identity