The Healthcare Commission, in the first national survey on children's hospital care, found that of the 25,000 children under 18 who stayed overnight and wanted to see a play leader, 47 per cent did not get the chance. A further 6,348 respondents were unaware that a play specialist was available, in contravention of the national service framework for acute children's care.
Lesley Wilson, play services manager at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said that lack of investment in services nationally was linked to poor recognition of the value of play in helping sick children get well.
She said that by distracting children from procedures and giving them the opportunity to express their fears, play specialists (usually early years or healthcare workers who have taken special hospital courses) were able to ease children's anxiety and supplement their overall recovery.
The report also found that half of all children who wanted education while in hospital did not receive it.
Alan Chapman, headteacher at Guy's Evelina Hospital school in London, which teaches young patients from Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals, warned that many children with a chronic illness had already missed a significant amount of school and that lack of provision meant they risked becoming alienated from their work and their peers.
He said access to education depended on how prepared local education authorities were to resource schools. However, he added that as nursing staff on children's wards worked on different shifts, sometimes they lacked awareness of hospital school hours and did not have children ready in time.
www.healthcarecommission. org.uk.
