The Clowndoctors Dr McFlea and Dr Spritely visit Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital regularly. On one visit they saw a wee girl, Lily* who was in isolation. Here is their story:
“As we approached the window the granny, who was outside, told us Lily wasn’t very happy about a procedure that was happening on her arm. Her Mum spotted us and told Lily to look towards the door where she saw us. McFlea had her puppet Harvey and that really got her attention. Spritely was pulling sponge balls out of the air as if by magic and feeding them to Harvey. Lily was so caught up watching the fun that the staff were able to continue with the procedure. The sponge balls and Harvey were making her laugh, and when the procedure was finished she wanted her Mum to bring her to the window. As she touched the window a magic thumb light would appear, promptly eaten by Harvey! She was really enjoying this, smiling a lot, and through the window she said ‘you’re funny’. As we were leaving her Granny said: ‘thank you for that, she hasn’t smiled all day’.
Therapeutic clowning can help distract children when they are scared or nervous about a procedure or treatment. The Clowndoctors work closely with the healthcare staff to provide support on the wards, in isolation and in out-patient departments where both the children and families can be experiencing anxiety.
*name changed for privacy
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