iPads are welcome distraction during surgery (UK)

Donna Cusano

Patients undergoing hand surgery and under regional anesthesia at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham UK are being supplied with iPads and headphones supplied by the hospital’s charity. The idea was developed by physician assistant Mark Leonard to distract patients from the sights and noise of surgery. One patient reported “It’s the first time I’ve had surgery so I was nervous about my op. But watching Top Gear and listening to music really helped. My only complaint is that there’s not enough current music on the iPads. Mark’s poor taste meant I almost fell asleep listening to UB40, although maybe that’s the point.” And one patient begged for more time to finish a computer game. We’ll assume that the disinfection problem has been taken care of. How iPads are helping calm patients at Queen Elizabeth Hospital SundayMercury