About the Play team

The Play service at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) supports opportunities for children and young people to play while they are receiving healthcare. The team are experts in specialised and therapeutic play for children and young people which can be accessed both during outpatient clinics and on the wards.

The Play team help reduce anxiety for around 6,500 patients, and provide emotional support to around 900 patients.

Through playful engagement and exploration we can support children and young people to settle in and to make sense of what is happening in their treatment or intervention.

Preparation can involve dolls, creativity and books to prepare children for a specific procedures, helping them to understand what the procedure will be like. Distraction techniques aim to take their attention away from treatments and procedures while they are happening, and assessment allows play staff to develop a play programme for children to reach goals during their hospital admission.

According to Article 31 and general comment (GC) 17 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), all children and young people have a right to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts. Play’s characteristics as defined in general comment (GC) 17 are: ‘fun, uncertainty, challenge, flexibility and non-productivity; it is a fundamental and vital dimension of the pleasure of childhood; it is an essential component of physical, social cognitive, emotional and spiritual development’.

Play specialists focus on therapeutic play – purposeful play designed to help children feel supported and understand medical procedures through role play and their favourite toys. This makes complex or potentially scary experiences easier to process and reduces anxiety.

Meanwhile, Play workers facilitate free play, giving children the freedom to choose their own activities and enjoy moments of fun and normality.