This study is the first to generate two patient satisfaction instruments, the Paediatric Surgical Patient Evaluation Questionnaire (PSPEQ, Parent form) and the Questionnaire on Children’s Surgery in Hospital (QCSH, Child form), with robust preliminary psychometric properties that capture the experiences of 5 to 10-year-old paediatric day-surgery patients and their parents in rural and metropolitan Australia. Patients’ and parents’ evaluations of Australian paediatric specialist surgical care and the impact of travel time on these evaluations was also newly investigated. The theoretical structure was generated to illustrate the interrelationships between the most salient aspects of Australian paediatric surgical care as described by parents. This was also a new contribution to knowledge, since it newly captured the holistic experience of care from seeking a referral to see the specialist through to 1 week after discharge. Evaluations of care by patients and parents were investigated to identify the important needs and issues specific to parent and child using a multiple-method approach. Participants included 214 parents (4 males, 210 females) and 58 paediatric surgical patients aged 5 to 10-years-old (159 males, 55 females). Semi-structured interviews and newly constructed questionnaires shortly after surgery uncovered attitudes and issues on services delivered during the paediatric surgical experience. In the quantitative phase of the study, exploratory factor analysis of the newly constructed PSPEQ (pron. pea - speck) resulted in a four-factor structure and included Hospital Staff, Surgeons, Hospital Facilities, and Access factors. The 41-item solution accounted for 47.2% of the score variance.