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News & Media

Media Release

Date: 30 September 2016

RUH celebrates National Play in Hospital Week

It's been playtime for patients and staff on the Children's Ward at the Royal United Hospital, Bath this week with music, dressing up and games.

And it was all for a genuine medical reason – play has been shown to be a big help to youngsters while they're in hospital and an important aid to speeding up their recovery.

The RUH was taking part in National Play in Hospital Week, which aims to raise awareness of the benefits of play and activity in the treatment of sick children and young people.

.Book Characters

Character forming – RUH staff dress up for play week on the Children’s Ward.

RUH Play Specialist Lyn Gardiner said: ""Play helps children cope with pain and fear while they are in hospital. National Play in Hospital Week is an opportunity for us to show the positive impact play and distraction has on a child's hospital experience."

This year's theme was 'Play Matters' and many activities were organised on the Children's Ward, including messy play in the playroom, games with family entertainer Nutty Noah, animal balloonmaking,a sing-along with resident musician Frankie and a story time visit from children's author Jeremy Strong, familiar to many children for his series featuring a young character called 'Nicholas' and his family.

Lyn said: "The fun doesn't stop when National Play in Hospital Week is over, as every week we organise a variety of play activities to welcome children and prepare them to cope with surgery or other procedures."

Ends

Notes to editor:

National Play in Hospital Week is organised by the National Association of Health Play Specialists (NAHPS), which aims to promote and ensure the provision of appropriate therapeutic and stimulating play facilities in hospital.

On Twitter, the hashtag #nationalplayinhospitalweek and #playmatters are being used

For more information about Jeremy Strong's work, visit: www.jeremystrong.co.uk

Photographs of the activities are available. For more information, contact the Communications Team, email: Ruh-tr.communicationteam@nhs.net, or call: 01225 826282.

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