One day before surgery

These sections will help prepare you for your upcoming surgery and answer many questions you may have:

Checklist: the day before surgery

Children and youth:

take a bath or shower the evening before (or the morning of) surgery
remove all make up and nail polish
remove all jewellery (including plastic jewellery) from piercings (from nose, tongue, belly button, eyebrows, ears, etc.)
use a pad instead of a tampon on the day of surgery if you are having your period

Parents, guardians and caregivers:

arrange child care for your other children
speak with CHEO staff to confirm the time you should arrive
arrange for a ride home from the hospital
prepare your child or youth so they have an age-appropriate understanding of what’s going to happen at the hospital (see Speaking to your child about surgery)
have acetaminophen (Tylenol® or Tempra®) and Gravol® on hand at home
pack a bag with comfortable clothes, slippers, music, books and a special comfort toy

We do not have lockable storage for your valuable items. You are responsible for keeping track of any valuable items that you bring to the hospital.

Confirming the time of your surgery or procedure

We will call you 1 to 2 days before your surgery or procedure to confirm the time you should arrive at CHEO. If we do not call you by 8 pm the evening before, call CHEO’s Admitting Department: 613-737-7600, ext. 2310, before 11 pm.

What if my child or youth is sick before surgery?

Call your surgeon’s office as soon as possible if your child or youth has had or been in contact with someone who has these contagious disease illnesses in the three weeks before surgery: chicken pox, mumps, measles, tuberculosis (TB), whooping cough or scarlet fever.

Contact your surgeon’s office if your child or youth has had any of these symptoms in the last week:

has a cold or cough with mucus (and doesn’t feel like eating or is very tired)
is wheezing
has a fever (above 38 C)
is vomiting or has diarrhea

Between 4 and 11 pm the evening before surgery (or if you can’t reach your surgeon), call Admitting at 613-737-7600, ext. 2310, and tell them your child or youth is ill.

After 11 pm the evening before surgery, call 613-737-2346 (Surgical Day Unit) and leave a message. Be sure to include your child’s name, date of surgery, surgeon’s name and the illness (for example, a cold or fever).

We may ask you to come to the Surgical Day Unit in the morning to have them assessed by the anesthesiologist to decide if we will go ahead with the surgery or procedure.

For their safety, we may have to reschedule their surgery

Driving after surgery

You are not allowed to drive for 24 hours after having an anesthetic.

Fasting guidelines

Your child’s or youth’s surgery may be delayed or rescheduled if they have had something to eat or haven’t followed the fasting requirements for liquids.

Stop solid foods at midnight the day before your procedure

Stop formula / fortified breastmilk 6 hours before your procedure time

Stop breast milk 4 hours before your procedure time

Stop clear fluids (apple juice, water) when you arrive at the hospital

Why can’t my child or youth eat or drink before surgery or a procedure?

Everyone having anesthesia must have an empty stomach

While a patient is asleep during surgery, food or fluid in the stomach can come back up into the throat and go into the lungs. This can cause problems with breathing and infection.

Please note: Some children may require different fasting times and this will be discussed with you by your care team.

On the day of the surgery or procedure:

do not give your child or youth gum or candies
encourage your child or youth to drink water or apple juice until arrival at hospital

Does your child have to take medication?

If the surgeon or anesthesiologist tells you to give your child or youth regular medication on the day of surgery, give the medication with a very small amount of water only. Do not give with apple sauce, yogurt or other foods.

Is your child or youth having an endoscopy?

If your child is having an endoscopy, please follow the special fasting guidelines from your doctor or nurse.

Who should come to CHEO?

Reminder: bring your proof of vaccination to CHEO
• CHEO asks everyone about their vaccination status as part of our entrance screening.
• Please bring a digital or paper copy of your proof of vaccination if you have it, and be prepared to show it along with one piece of ID.

Parent/caregiver presence policy and visitor policy:

When parents and caregivers come with their child or youth to CHEO, they arrive not as visitors, but as part of the care team. They are actively working with us as part of their child’s care team, providing vital health information only they would know and giving emotional support in a way only a parent or caregiver can. For this reason, parents/caregivers will never be separated from their child.

Who is a parent/caregiver or visitor?

Parent/caregiver: Someone who is over 14 years old and helps a child or youth with activities of daily living – e.g. parent, grandparent, older sibling, legal guardian, etc. A parent/caregiver can be designated by a patient. A parent/caregiver is never considered a visitor because they are a vital part of the care team.

Visitor: Someone who is part of a child or youth’s family or support network—e.g. sibling, extended family member, friend, etc.—but not a designated parent/caregiver.

At this time visitors are not permitted. This will help us limit the number of people in the building and ensure the safety of your loved ones. Read the "Entering CHEO" section below to learn more.

CHEO is safe

CHEO remains a safe place for you to come with your child/youth. To make sure we are always putting safety first and minimizing any chance of transmission of infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, anyone who comes to CHEO, including parents and caregivers, is screened before entering, including being asked whether they (or anyone living with them) have travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days. Anyone who is sick will not be allowed to enter. Rest assured, if you, as part of the care team, cannot come onsite due to sickness, we will work with you to make sure your child/youth has support.

Make sure to complete our entrance screening before coming to CHEO. For those coming to CHEO for a scheduled appointment please make sure to complete it no sooner than 48 hours before your scheduled appointment. Additional safety precautions remain in place – including, physical distancing, masking, and handwashing, to name a few.

Frequently asked questions for parents/caregivers coming to CHEO

I/someone I live with has travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days. What can I expect?

If you have an upcoming in-person appointment, please contact your clinical team to make the necessary arrangements for your appointment. These arrangements can include a virtual appointment or rebooking your appointment until 14 days after any international travel.

Will I be asked to show proof of vaccination?

Yes! Reminder for parents/caregivers: bring your proof of vaccination to CHEO.

CHEO asks everyone about their vaccination status as part of our entrance screening.

Please bring a digital or paper copy of your proof of vaccination if you have it, and be prepared to show it along with one piece of ID.

I'm an unvaccinated or partially vaccinated parent/caregiver, what can I expect?

For everyone’s safety, we are asking that all parents and caregivers who are able to get vaccinated do so. Parents/caregivers are asked to be vaccinated to protect those they interact with while at CHEO. Those who are currently unvaccinated or partially vaccinated will still be permitted to come to CHEO, with additional safety measures. As important members of our care team, we will never create a barrier for parents/caregivers to accompany their child to CHEO.

What to expect
Ultimately we want everyone who visits CHEO to be fully vaccinated. For the very few who fall into the category of unvaccinated/partially vaccinated, here’s what you can expect:

Additional screening questions as part of our entrance screen – please plan to arrive early as you will need to answer a few more questions.

You will be escorted to your child/youth’s bedside.

You will not be allowed in common spaces such as the cafeteria, coffee shop, or pharmacy — please bring your own snacks and ask your care team how you can get what you need while staying at your child’s bedside.

My child/youth is staying as an inpatient at CHEO. Will I be required to do regular rapid tests?

As an added layer of protection, we are now supplying all parents and caregivers of children and youth in shared rooms with rapid antigen tests. Parents and caregivers who are staying at the bedside of their child or youth at CHEO will be required to test themselves daily for COVID-19.

Parents and caregivers are important members of the care team, and as such we will never create a barrier to them accompanying their child at CHEO. If a parent/caregiver tests positive we will support them with additional safety measures while accompanying their child or youth at CHEO.

Will I be required to wear a face mask while at CHEO?

Yes! Masks are given to all parents/caregivers and patients at CHEO. Families are welcome to wear a personal KN95 or other mask when coming to CHEO. We will ask you to put the procedural mask we give you on top as we can't quality check everyone's personal mask.

Please wear your assigned mask when:

a health-care provider comes into your child’s or youth’s room

you go outside of your child’s or youth’s room

physical distancing measures cannot be maintained (including shared rooms)

Entering CHEO

Where to enter

All children, youth and parents/caregivers must enter through the main entrance for clinic visits, or the Emergency Department in urgent cases. Other entrances are closed.

Who can enter

To limit the number of people in the building the following rules will apply:
Clinic/Surgical Day Unit appointment

Only ONE parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO

For some patients (e.g. persons with disabilities) coming for an appointment in a clinic or the Surgical Day Unit, a second essential support person may be allowed to help patients and care teams. For patients and parents/caregivers who require additional support, please contact your care team to determine if an exception to ONE parent or caregiver at a time can be granted.

Emergency Department visit

Only ONE parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO

For some patients (e.g. persons with disabilities) coming for an appointment in a clinic or the Surgical Day Unit, a second essential support person may be allowed to help patients and care teams. For patients and parents/caregivers who require additional support, please contact your care team to determine if an exception to ONE parent or caregiver at a time can be granted. For Emergency Department (ED) visits, please discuss your need for an exception on arrival to the ED.

Staying at the hospital

TWO designated parents/caregivers are permitted (designated parents/caregivers must be 12 or older).

Overnight, only one parent/caregiver is permitted to remain onsite.

Who can't enter

As of December 18 and until further notice, visitors are not permitted

Parents/caregivers or visitors who do not pass the entrance screening.

Siblings younger than 12 are not permitted. We appreciate this requires childcare arrangements for younger siblings and we are grateful for your support in doing so.

Thank you

COVID-19 has created many new rules and safety procedures we all need to follow. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to update our procedures in line with direction from Public Health Ontario. Please be kind to our entrance screeners, staff and medical staff when you meet them. Safety first is our top priority at CHEO.

Preventing the spread of infections

We want to make sure our patients get well quickly. Please help us prevent the spread of infections:

Clean your hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based hand gel. You must wash with soap and water if you can see dirt or if there is mucous on your hands.
If you are sick (a fever, cough, runny nose, diarrhea, a new rash or are feeling ill) and your child or youth is having surgery, stay home and send another parent or legal guardian with your child or youth.
Remember to have a bath or shower the night before (or the morning of) your surgery.

Surgery delays or rescheduling

Unfortunately, surgeries and procedures are sometimes delayed or rescheduled because:

we need to do emergency surgery on a seriously ill or injured child or youth
another surgery takes longer than expected.
we do not have an inpatient bed available for children or youth needing to stay overnight after surgery (caused by high numbers of patients in the hospital)

We will do our best to keep you informed about any delays. We only reschedule surgeries if we have no other choice.

If your child’s or youth’s surgery gets delayed, we will book a new surgery date as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding!