Benefits of the Programme
The Clown Doctors
Children and Families
Host Hospitals
How we're Funded

Ethos

The Clown Doctors programme recognises that the implications of hospitalisation are far wider than simply those relating to medical conditions. Fear, boredom, loss of control and other insecurities can adversely affect children in hospitals, and the Clown Doctors offer an impartial way of entertaining, supporting and empowering the children who may be struggling with these issues. Performing arts such as storytelling, music, improvisation and clowning are used to engage the children and to help them come to terms with their situation using humour and play.

Benefits of the Programme

The programme is intended to benefit both children and their families. The wide range of benefits includes:

• Social involvement
• Participation
• Demystifying of medical procedures and jargon
• Access to the Arts

The Clown Doctors

The Clown Doctors are local professional artists who have been trained in the art of clowning, and who all have special skills and stories to share. They all undergo police and health checks, and are trained to work with vulnerable children in a hospital setting.

 

Children and Families

Hospitalised children can feel frightened, lonely, bored or confused; as well as coping with illness they are in a new place, away from home, which is filled with unknown people, medical equipment and sometimes distressing sights which healthy children do not have to experience. Families of patients can also be affected, and while the medical needs of the child are being given top priority they also need some attention of a non-medical kind.

Benefits for the patients include:

• improvement in mood and lowering of stress levels
• distraction from illness
• relief of boredom and loneliness

The Clown Doctors work with children aged 6 months to 16 years and within a wide range of medical departments wherever there are young people. Activities are age-specific and ability-specific so each child has their own unique experience with the Clown Doctors.

Nursery Nurses and Play Specialists based with Paediatric wards in hospitals refer individual children to the Clown Doctors and give a reason for the referral plus basic information about the child's age, interests and medical condition. Some long-term children may be referred to the Clown Doctors on a regular basis during their stay. A visit from a Clown Doctor will normally last about 20 minutes and any successes or developments arising from the visit are fed back to the health care staff to form part of the child's overall recovery care plan.

Host Hospitals

Hospital staff work closely with the Clown Doctors to identify which patients will benefit most from a visit, and as such the Clown Doctors rely on the knowledge of the hospital staff to pinpoint where they will make the greatest impact.

The Newcastle Hospitals

We are very excited that The Royal Victoria Infirmary and the General Hospital are moving to the brand new Great North Children's Hospital, which will receive two days of delivery a week. We also deliver one day a week at the Freeman Hospital, in the Cardiothoracic Centre.

The Sunderland Royal Hospital

Unfortunately we are no longer able to deliver in Sunderland due to a lack of funding, although we hope to return there in the future.  If you are interested in supporting future delivery in the Sunderland Royal Hospital please contact Clare on 0191 384 0728.

How we are funded

Newcastle Healthcare Charity

We are extremely grateful to the Trustees of the Newcastle Healthcare Charity, which supports our delivery in the Great North Children's Hospital.  They also collect funds on our behalf- if you would like to donate to this fund then please visit our 'Donations' page.

Children's Heart Unit Fund

The generosity of the Trustees of the Childrens Heart Unit Fund means that we are able to visit the children in the Freeman Hospital, specifically on the cardio ward.  If you would like to see more about the Fund's work, or to make a donation, please visit http://www.chuf.org.uk/

Arts Council England

For the first two delivery years of the programme financial support was provided by the Arts Council England.

Trusts, foundations and grant givers

In partnership with the host hospitals we approach local, regional and national trusts to help us provide funding for training, equipment, delivery and campaigns linked to general health and well-being.

Private Donations

We welcome private donations from any individual and these gifts are vital to the upkeep of the programme. Individuals can support a good cause close to home where they can physically see the benefits and can choose which individual hospital programme their donations go towards. Please contact us if you would like to make a donation and further our work in the North East.

Corporate Sponsors

Local, regional and national companies have been approached, with a view to them becoming a sponsor of our programme. Benefits to companies include:

• Enhancement of Corporate Social Responsibilities objectives
• Regular television and press coverage
• Strong support from a range of health professionals, from care staff to policy makers
• A unique opportunity to bring laughter to vulnerable children, and to make a difference to young patients and their families