Pupils from a special educational needs school have visited Doncaster Royal Infirmary to experience the hospital journey and to ease any concerns they may have had about visiting as a patient.
The trip was arranged as part of Heatherwood School’s ‘health services’ project, with four students attending to experience the journey from admission, to seeing the doctor and the wards and finally through to discharge.
The children were given a guided tour of the Children’s Ward by Hospital School Teachers, Claire Riley and Sarah Pearce. This enabled the visitors to see where they might stay if they needed to be admitted and meet some of the staff. During the tour, the kids were given the opportunity to choose songs on the ward’s jukebox, try out the play area as well as test a moveable bed.
Samantha Lee, Head of Sixth Form at Heatherwood School, said: “The children really took a lot away from the visit. Some of them have been in hospital before and it was nice for them to see it as a place that they didn’t associate with illness, and the other children who hadn’t been admitted before feel a lot better knowing what to expect if they ever do need hospital care.
“The children also interacted with nurses, play leaders, hospital school teachers and doctors so that they could familiarise themselves with some of the people that might look after them during a hospital stay.”
Jane Morgan, Assistant Head of the Hospital School at the Trust, said: “Some of the children we care for on the ward have never been in hospital before. It can be quite scary being in a strange place for the first time, particularly if young children are unwell and not feeling themselves, being away from home can make them anxious and delay their recovery. It’s been lovely having the children visit the ward, hopefully it’s made them feel better about not only overnight stays in hospital but routine appointments as well.”