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Clown Doctors - Greater Manchester (120a)
Booth Hall and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital are the two specialist Children’s Hospitals serving Manchester children. Patients are treated for all sorts of conditions including surgery, accidental injury and medical problems that they may have been born with. MedEquip4Kids has been funding the work of Theodora Children’s Trust for over two years, to provide a specially trained “Clown Doctor” to cover both hospital sites. 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.
In June 2009 Booth Hall Hospital will close its doors, shortly to be followed by RMCH. We aim to provide a continuous service by funding the clowns until the hospitals close, and to then provide visits to children in North Manchester General Hospital and the new Manchester Children’s Hospital once it is opened. It will cost £33,880.00 to fund the clown doctors’ visits for the whole of Greater Manchester for 2009. This will allow approximately 5,200 children each year to benefit from the project. UPDATE: With the closure of Booth Hall and Pendlebury Hospitals, the Clown Doctors have continued their work at North Manchester General Hospital and the New Children's Hospital in Central Manchester.
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