Play team

How we help

The play team at The Alex children’s hospital are qualified hospital play specialists who work as important members of your child’s medical team. They provide both normal or specialist/therapeutic play opportunities for children and young people of all ages in hospital. The play may be individually or in groups.

They also organise events, such as stay and play drop-ins, toy sales and Christmas parties.

Play specialists provide a specialist service that helps children: understand their illness better, reduce the effects of a hospital admission, recover quicker and manage their feelings. It can help them trust hospital staff and cope with their treatment better.

Our play specialists will:

• create a child-friendly environment for play and relaxation
• understand the child’s needs and help be an advocate for them
• offer support for the whole family
• prepare children for procedures such as blood tests
• help a child during a medical procedure with distraction therapy
• provide normal play as they would at home
• use therapeutic play to help children cope with their feelings
• teach children with coping techniques
• use relaxation and guided imagery techniques
• support the child’s treatment plan.

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