North Manchester General Hospital - Clown Doctors

 

North Manchester General Hospital is expanding its children’s services following the closure of Booth Hall Hospital. Patients are treated for all sorts of conditions including surgery, accidental injury and medical problems. 

 

MedEquip4Kids has been funding the work of Theodora Children’s Trust for over two years to provide a specially trained “Clown Doctor” to cover Booth Hall and Pendlebury Hospitals prior to their closure. This innovative and hugely popular work was first introduced at Great Ormond Street Hospital ten years ago and has been operating in Manchester for several years. 

 

The clowns are trained to work alongside hospital staff to spend time every week with children in hospital. They work one to one and in small groups, and for the young patients the clown’s weekly visit offers a welcome respite from the medical routine of their hospital stay. Depending on the needs and age of the child, the clown may sit and speak to the child, encourage activities or present balloons, or perform entertainments for a small group of children. The beneficial effect of laughter is hugely important for a child’s recovery. 

 

We are funding the clowns at North Manchester General Hospital and the new Manchester Children’s Hospital. It will cost £33,880 to fund the clown doctors’ visits for the whole of Greater Manchester for 2009-10. This will allow approximately 5,200 children each year to benefit from the project.