New video for families explains the play service

A new film has launched to help children and families attending Evelina London Children's Hospital get a better understanding of the power of play, and discover how play specialists can help them during their visit.

Evelina London's team of play specialists are trained to provide play for sick children and young people. They make a difference in a number of ways, including helping children to gain a better understanding of medical procedures and treatment, using distraction and therapeutic intervention to help a child cope with painful and invasive procedures, and encouraging recovery and development by providing fun activities.

Sue Pruden, play service manager at Evelina London, said: "Coming to hospital can be very daunting, so through this video we want to help remove some of the fear by showing children and young people what can be familiar and fun in hospital.

"We've included information about the ways we can help, how families can access our support and shown what our uniforms look like so children and young people look out for us and join in our activities during their hospital stay.

"We really hope this video will be a useful resource for the tens of thousands of families who are treated at the hospital every year."

Watch the video on our play specialists page.