The lack of evidence on the pros and cons of parents witnessing the care of their child in an emergency prompted a study to elicit nurses’ views on the subject. Laura Crowley and colleagues describe the findings

Aim To examine the perspectives of children’s nurses about parental presence during resuscitation.

Methods Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from nine children’s nurses, working in the same emergency department, followed by thematic analysis to identify common themes.

Findings Nurses thought that parents had a negative effect on the ability of professionals caring for the child. However, they also recognised the negative effect parental absence can have on the grieving process. During resuscitation nurses struggle personally and professionally to decide whether parents should be present.

Conclusion There is a lack of guidance available about how to manage parental presence at the resuscitation of the child. Experienced children’s nurses were having to ‘gauge it every time’.