Play in Healthcare Week celebrates the difference play makes for children and families at Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital

The life-changing impact of play in healthcare is being celebrated across NHS Grampian this week as part of Play in Healthcare Week, with families praising the dedicated play team at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH) for helping children feel safer, calmer and more confident during treatment. 

The hospital’s award-winning play service supports children and young people attending appointments, undergoing procedures and receiving treatment. They use specialist techniques rooted in play to reduce anxiety, explain complex healthcare experiences and improve patients’ – as well as parents’ and carers’ – overall wellbeing. 
 
The team supports children and young people through treatment and recovery, while helping them maintain a sense of normality during what can often be a challenging time for both them and their families. 
 
For eight-year-old Aiden Carr, from Kincorth, who has been attending Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital regularly since last September when he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, the play team has become an important part of his life. 

His mum, Selina Brown, said the team has been alongside them from the beginning, making a significant difference during what has been a difficult year for both Aiden and their family. 
 
Selina said: “I remember the play team spending a lot of time with Aiden while he was in hospital for around 12 days last year, making Halloween decorations and helping out. They have been at every appointment with him since, helping him get through easy ones and very difficult ones. They have been amazing – helping Aiden with his appointments for cannulation, making a plan for him and ensuring his needs were met. They know how to distract and calm him. 
 
“They have also been a big help to me as it can be very emotional and stressful watching your child be distressed and they take a wee bit of pressure off this by helping him through it when I cannot.” 
 
As part of this year’s Play in Healthcare Week celebrations, Aiden was pleased to learn his artwork had been selected as the winning design in the hospital’s Play in Healthcare Week t-shirt competition. Selina said she was incredibly proud when she heard the news. 

“I was very surprised when Wendy called to say that Aiden’s design had been chosen for the t-shirts. I am very proud of Aiden doing this. He spent a lot of time thinking about how you can put play and hospital together into one design,” she commented. 
 
Play Service Manager Heather Beattie: “We’re very proud of Aiden’s brilliant design and the team are really enjoying showing it off. Our senior play specialist, Wendy, and play worker, Aidan, have been instrumental in supporting Aiden and his mum and improving their experience.  
 
“Play is so much more than keeping children occupied. Every activity and interaction has a purpose, whether that’s helping a child understand a procedure, reducing anxiety, supporting recovery or enabling clinical teams to deliver care more effectively. Our aim is always to help children feel empowered, supported and involved in their care.” 
 
NHS Grampian’s multi-disciplinary team includes healthcare play specialists, play workers and volunteers who work closely with clinical colleagues across the hospital. Their support ranges from helping children prepare for procedures and treatments to supporting young people with long-term conditions and repeated hospital visits. 
 
The team also uses a variety of innovative approaches, including virtual reality technology, to help children cope with healthcare experiences and build confidence. 
 
Reflecting on the support her family has received, Selina said the team’s dedication and compassion make a lasting difference. 
 
“The best thing about the team is that they are always on hand to help. They are so caring, patient and just amazing. Aiden and I really couldn't have got through the last year without their help. They make appointments more enjoyable for the children with all their activities and extras they give, and make things less stressful for the parents.
 
“It is important to have this service as they are imperative to the children's care and experience of being in hospital. They not only help children and parents but the doctors and nurses treating the children, by helping to keep them calm and distracted. Every children's hospital should have a service like the RACH team,” Selina explained.