A fun-filled roadshow together with a group of children’s entertainers will visit young patients in local hospitals next week.
The event, which is being organised by one of the country’s leading children’s charities, Children in Hospital Ireland, will be at University Hospital Galway on Wednesday and Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe on Thursday.
Mary O’Connor, the chief executive of CHI, says the roadshow will provide entertainment and exciting activities.
“Especially when in hospital, play and fun activities offer a distraction and can help children cope with the situation. Promoting the benefit of play in hospitals is one of the key aims of CHI.”
The roadshow features children’s entertainers SillyBilly who will join CHI’s enthusiastic volunteers to bring moments of magic and wonder tailored to the needs of each child they meet.
CHI will provide toys for every child and there will be something for mums and dads as well! CHI will also donate a gift to both Galway hospitals which will “enhance the provision of play” for their child patients.
Ms O’Connor says in addition to highlighting the importance of play in hospital the roadshow will also provide an opportunity for parents to access information and support to help them cope with their child’s hospital stay.
“The CHI roadshow team and CHI’s PlayWell volunteers are looking forward to working with the hospital play specialist and all the staff in University Hospital Galway on Wednesday and with all the staff in Portiuncula Hospital on Thursday to ensure a great day for all the children in both hospitals.”
Children in Hospital Ireland is a voluntary organisation which has been promoting the welfare, emotional and developmental needs of children in hospital for almost 40 years as well as providing play in hospitals through its “PlayWell” service.
The Galway visit is part of a two month Irish tour of 26 hospitals - one of the biggest such events ever held in the country to support sick children and their families.
Each year in Ireland there are on average more than 270,000 hospital visits by children. For more than 150,000 this means an average of a three night stay. Some 75,000 child inpatients are under four years old and almost all go through child emergency departments in Ireland.
CHI’s trained and vetted PlayWell volunteers organise games and fun activities in 17 hospitals around the country and provide more than 40,000 hours of play in hospital each year. All volunteers are Garda vetted before being placed in the hospital. To become a volunteer contact www.childreninhospital.ie
