In Focus: St George's Play Team
25 February 2022
Working across the children’s wards at St George’s Hospital the Play Team, who are also supported by Samuel’s Charity, provide a vital service for our young patients, helping to prepare them for treatments and surgeries during their stay with St George’s, as well as providing a welcome distraction for their time in hospital.
The Play Team made up of seven qualified, experienced health Play Specialists work with children ranging from all ages from new-borns up to 18-year-olds, using play with younger children and for activities tailored to suit teenagers.
Justine Makin, Lead Play Specialist at St George’s, explains further: “We provide normalising, developmental and sensory play which can include arts & crafts activities, a central playroom, a teenage room, a sensory area, you name it – we do it!”
“We help prepare children for surgeries/treatments which helps to alleviate any anxieties, misconceptions etc, it teaches a child about what is going to be happening to them.
The Charity helps fund the Play Team at St George’s with regularly monthly funds, as well as providing fulfilling Christmas present through an Amazon Wishlist – organised by the Play Team, which ensures they receive exactly what they need.
However, we wouldn’t be able to fund the amazing Play Team at St George’s and other vital services without the generous support of our fundraisers and donors.
Justine, who has worked with the Trust for seven years, said: “Donations and fundraising, means that we can provide our children/young people with provision, activities, materials, equipment and multi-sensory experiences.
“Through preparation and distraction, specialised and therapeutic, normalising/developmental and sensory play, we can help to alleviate fears, anxieties and miss-conceptions thus providing our patients with a greater hospital experience and without this generous, vital charity funding, again this would not be as possible!
“I would like to say a huge thank you to St George’s Hospital Charity, their donors and especially to the public and our community, for their kind and generous donations. These donations are invaluable and vital in helping us to keep ‘Play In Hospital’ to modern day standards”.
