Giggle Doctors bring laughter and magic to young patients at Rotherham Hospital
Young patients on the Children’s Ward at Rotherham Hospital were recently visited by the hilarious Giggle Doctors from Theodora Children's Charity.
Dr Scribble and Dr Nic Nac are specially trained performers, who will be visiting the ward once a month for the next year, an initiative funded by Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity.
Children and families were in stitches of laughter as the Giggle Doctors spent time with each child staying on the hospital's Children’s Ward. The specially trained performers aren’t just entertainers, they are put through a two-year intensive training course to cover both clinical training such as infection control and artistic training, which helps them adapt their artistic skills to the hospital environment.
The Giggle Doctors have one mission - to bring laughter, music and magic to children in hospital. Their visit filled the hospital corridors with joy and created unforgettable memories during a time that can often be challenging for young patients.
14 year old Scarlet from Rawmarsh was staying in hospital during the Giggle Doctors visit. Her mum, Diane, said: “Scarlet had been in hospital for three days and it had been a really emotional time. Just 20 minutes before the Giggle Doctors came to see us, we were both in tears and Scarlet was really fed up. I cannot explain how much the Giggle Doctors visit made a difference, we went from sadness to laughter in the space of half an hour! They were amazing with Scarlet and instantly got her sense of humour –they knew exactly what to do to make her smile. They spent around 45 minutes with us and I cannot thank them enough for making my daughter smile during a tough time.”
Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity has worked with a number of local organisations who have fundraised for the charity to make this exciting project possible. The charity would like to thank The Company of Cutlers Charitable Trust, students from the Education and Early Years programme at Thomas Rotherham College, Thomas Winstanley, Saiqa Ajaib, Senior Partner at UK Immigration Solutions Ltd and Hays Travel Wickersley.
Rachael Dawes, Head of Fundraising for Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity, said: “This initiative wouldn’t be possible without the incredible kindness and support from our local community. These visits have a remarkable impact on the emotional wellbeing of our young patients and their families.
“For children, hospital stays can feel long and repetitive. There's often very little joy in the day-to-day, so the Giggle Doctors’ visits really do make such a big difference and bring so much happiness.”
If you’d like to support local children facing difficult times, you can contact Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity to chat about fundraising. The charity hub is based in the main entrance of Rotherham Hospital (opposite Boots) or you can contact the charity by phone on 01709 426821 or email trft.rhcc@nhs.net.