This Podcast is brought to you by the GOSH Learning Academy.
SA: Hello and welcome to a brand new series on GOSHpods - PlayPods. The play team are an indispensable part of the MDT at both Great Ormond Street Hospital and in children's wards across the country. We're very lucky at GOSH that we have a play team that's been around for almost 50 years and is entirely funded by the GOSH charity. Play is vital for promoting wellbeing in babies, children, young people, and their families. It offers a safe outlet for big emotions, a space to feel grounded and it can act as a means of understanding and navigating the complicated and scary world of healthcare.
In this four episode series we're going to explore the power of play and the role of the play team at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
I'm Dr. Sarah Ahmed, a paediatric registrar and the current digital learning education fellow here at GOSH, and today I'm going to be talking to three members of the play team as they give us an introduction to the importance of play. What is play and why does it matter?
Thank you so much for joining us today. I'm so excited for this conversation that we're about to have. Maybe let's start with a round of introductions. Can you each tell us a little bit about yourselves?
SSL: Sure. It's great to be here actually and share this experience with you guys. I'm Sian. Hello. I am deputy head of play and one of three and part of the play management team here at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
BH: And I'm Ben, and I'm a play worker on one of the wards.
HS: My name's Helen. I'm a play specialist and I've been at Great Ormond Street Hospital for about four years.
SA: Fantastic, okay. So before we get talking, before you tell me all about play, what would you like people to get out of listening to this podcast?
SSL: I mean, I think this is an amazing opportunity that we've got to talk about play and the importance of it and to share that with all of the listeners out there in podcast listening land. And we want to be able to promote the role, and why it's important for children, young people to have access to play, and what that means for them while they're in hospital.
We know that play is vital and it contributes super well to wellbeing. It's a grounding and normalizing activity, and it's something that connects families together whilst they're in hospital. If there is a creative activity going on at bedside with an eight-year-old and there is a sibling at home, they can be doing the same thing. And it's a great way of connecting them. It provides opportunities for exploration and understanding. And at the heart of it really, we are using play as a really important therapeutic tool so that children and young people within the hospital are less worried about what's about to happen and have a little bit more control about it. And ultimately we want to champion the role of the play specialist and the play worker and and what a difference that makes to the patient experience journey.
SA: That's amazing. I think we're going to have a fantastic conversation and I think it's a really important conversation as well because the work that the play team does is phenomenal, but I really don't think the extended MDT really fully understands what the play team do and how important your work is. So hopefully we can educate a little bit, inspire a little bit and just spread the word.
SSL: Yeah, that sounds amazing. We, we like to inspire and we like to spread the, the joy of play and how that makes a difference.
SA: And it is so joyous.
SSL: So joyous.
SA: Let's start at the beginning with seemingly simple question. What is play?
BH: Well, I'll take this one. It's about tapping into the child's world and helping them to process and make sense of everything around them. You know, play is a child's universal language. Play empowers, offers spaces to explore and express and improves cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well being.
You know, and when thinking about play in, in a hospital, it can offer a calming space. You know, with specialised interventions, it can help with medical procedures and also empower children and young people with strategies for coping during their hospital stay.
HS: I think I’d also like to add that playful interactions are joyful and led by children where possible and I think children can develop a resilience through play. It can reduce their anxiety and it just gives them a positive experience in hospital so if they have to come back again they won't be so anxious about what's going on, and they'll know there are things in place to help them.
SA: I love what you guys said there about it being a universal language and joyous. I think, I think sometimes we watch kids play and we think, “Oh, they’re playing, you know, that's what kids do”, but it's, it's so much more than that.
SSL: And it's so, you know, it's so inspiring to hear colleagues talk about play in that way. And, and, you know, it is a really big question, what is play, but it's so inspiring to hear the different levels of play. It's like building a Jenga tower, isn't it? There's so many different bricks that encompasses that whole thing.
SA: What a fantastic metaphor.
So the play team at Great Ormond Street is made up of play workers and play specialists. What, what do those terms mean? What is the difference between a play worker and a play specialist and who is in the play team?
SSL: So I think I'm going to say, yes, the play team is made up of them, but actually it's quite an expansive team now that we have nearly 54 colleagues within the team and we've got a number of different roles. So we've got our health play specialists. We've got our play workers. We've also got our trainee health play specialists who perhaps are doing the degree or the apprenticeship. We support lots of students coming up through that training process. And we also are so fortunate to have music therapists within our team as well. So the umbrella becomes much wider so that we are looking holistically about the child within those settings. And, and that's why it's so good to have Helen and Ben on this episode, and they can answer that really important question.
BH: You know, firstly, we help children settle in and feel comfortable in the hospital. And we do this by making sure children can spend time with a play worker, either one to one, in our playroom, or we can simply provide access to play resources and materials like old games and game consoles.
You know, just imagine how it would feel if you'd never been to hospital before, and all of a sudden you have to spend the night here, sometimes longer. We make sure that the children can see their stay as home from home. So normalising play is vital for children in hospital as it is exactly what they would be doing at home.
Play makes a young person feel safe and grounded, and it aids their development. I support the play specialists in maintaining the playrooms and in managing, um, resources and in developing play programmes. We also provide family support and create spaces for play to happen organically and we play our part in creating a nice environment in the hospital.
HS: And the role of the play specialist does all the above as a play worker does. However, the one key difference between our roles is the play specialist is responsible for providing therapeutic play for the babies, children, and young people. This can be preparing them for treatment, a specific procedure, or if it's their first time visiting. They can help the patient navigate their feelings and speak of any anxieties they feel, and this means that they have a vast amount of knowledge about different procedures and tests in the hospital. And they try to work out how to use play during these tests. When's the best time to offer play? When do we need to withdraw play? The stages will often include things like preparing a child for something, a distraction during the procedure itself, and then afterwards we'll kind of talk to the patient and get some feedback about how it was completed. So if it needs to happen again, we can put some improvements in place to help them. Play invokes such joy for everyone.
SSL: I mean, it's the word joy, isn't it? We keep talking about that and it can't be underestimated really, in terms of having that therapeutic connection and input with a child or a young person and a baby and their family.
SA: Can I ask you what the difference is between therapeutic play and play therapy?
SSL: So yeah it's a really good question. And it's often something that we get asked a lot. And we get asked the difference between the play specialist and a play therapist. Are they the same? And what I would say is that initially my answer would be no, they're not the same. But actually at the very core of both roles is the importance of play and play as a tool in helping children and young people. But there are key differences. And we don't have any play therapists within the play team. And I think that's important to say too.
So, if we look at the role of the play therapist, so they do undertake a significantly different training to that of a health play specialist, their qualifications are different, and their learning pathway is different for sure. And then once they've gone through all that, they're registered with the British Association of Play Therapists. And they are qualified mental health practitioners and their work actually forms a big chunk of counselling for children and young people. So that's, that's very different to the role of the health play specialist for sure. Play therapy allows children and young people to explore often quite difficult experiences but in a safe space that is overseen by a play therapist. And they've had that training to be able to hold that place really well. But often the reason they're seeing a play therapist are quite complex issues.
So a health play specialist undertakes a different training pathway, a different qualification pathway. And once qualified they're registered with the Society of Health Play Specialists. So it's, it's interesting some people often think we're the same, but they are quite, quite different in the way that that training happens, but also then post qualifying where they're registered with. Play specialists study for a foundation degree in Healthcare Play Specialism. We have colleagues from the US with us and they do a Child Life Degree. And they use play as a therapeutic tool to support and help babies and children and young people understand their illness and their treatment. So the role of the health play specialist is very much about within healthcare and how that healthcare impacts them and all the different procedures and treatments that they might come into contact with when they're in hospital. We help them learn about their bodies, explore treatments and procedures that happen so they understand them better. We might use real life medical kit in order to help them and support them in that journey and help familiarize them with the unfamiliar. So it's, they are two very different things. And I tried to make it a short answer, but I, I think it was important to be able to, to talk about the two separately.
SA: Yeah, absolutely. I've definitely made mistakes before and called play workers, play therapists because I didn't realize that was a difference. And so thank you for explaining that. I really do think it is important that we we do see the difference between the two.
SSL: Perfect.
SA: We're going to talk a little bit more about this in episode two, and you've already touched on this a little bit already, but why is therapeutic play so helpful in a hospital setting?
BH: On the ward I support, we have children who tend to stay with us for quite a long time. What I found helpful is helping to find structure and familiarity with the children. For example, a child can look forward to a visit from a member of the play team, um, and can perhaps find distraction by thinking about what they might like to do in their play session. The structure and familiarity can really help a child who perhaps has lost that structure from spending a longer time in hospital you know, where they would normally find that structure in going to school or clubs.
At the same time, we know that play can be helpful for parents and children who are about to return to the hospital. You know, some of the parents who I've met have remarked that their children looked forward to coming back in, so that they can spend time with the play team. This can really help parents who might otherwise find it hard to prepare their child for a stay in hospital.
HS: Everywhere and anywhere, babies, children, and young people, they need the space to play, they need the support, and they need time to process the unfamiliar. Because I think we're all aware that a lot of children like their routines, they like being in places they know, they like being around people they know and friends and things. So hospital environments can be quite alienating for them.
So I work with a variety of patients, but one patient I was working with is a six year old who had a previously traumatic admission elsewhere. So I got together with psychology and I was able to create a customized plan and working with the patient and the family and with their agreement every step of the way we were able to take each step slowly at the patient's pace. For example, each visit they were able to do something new. For example, visit a new room, visit a new space, have their blood pressure taken, have the height taken, have a pretend echo or a pretend ultrasound. And each new step they completed, they received a tiny reward like a small car or sticker. And we built upon these positive experiences until they came in for an ultrasound and they were able to complete the ultrasound and they were absolutely amazing. And the parent fed back to us that once the ultrasound was completed, the patient was then able to tolerate things outside the hospital, like having a haircut, for example. Then when the patient came back in for an echo, after many, many times practicing, the patient was a lot more familiar with what was going to happen, and they were able to complete this as well. So on the same day we had the echo, we had planned for an ECG to be done on another day. However, because the echo had been so successful, and the patient was very cooperative and very engaged, we went for an ECG. And with the combined effort of the psychology, the sonographer, parents, play, and the patient themselves, they were able to complete this and tolerate all the stickers going on. Because what we found normally is stickers are quite a trigger for some children just of how they feel, especially with sensory processing disorders.
So yeah, we were able to use play to give children and young people skills to use outside the hospital, but also encourage their sense of achievement and their resilience. And like we keep saying, joy is so impactful for wellbeing and it just, it can provide so much support for the parents, the babies, the children, and the young people.
SA: I love that. I love that story. It's just so wonderful to hear it.
SSL: It's so impactful. And, you know, it's such an honour to be part of this play team and I'm blown away every day by that.
SA: Yeah, it's absolutely wonderful. What I'm hearing is that you guys do so much. And so given this, just the huge breadth of possibilities, what does a typical working day look like for a play worker or a play specialist?
HS: Well, from a play specialist perspective, it's a really good question. I love talking about it because every day is different. There's a routine that I follow every day, but every day I don't know what I'm walking into. I don't know what patients I'm going to see. I don't know anything. So it's like, it's just like a huge surprise on the day.
So when I come in, for example, I'll check in with the nursing team to see who may need support during the day. And I also take time to clean all the toys, ensure they're safe and ready for the children to play with. Often I will set up an activity in the waiting area for children to do, basing it around a theme. For example, June we had Father's Day, the Euros, Learning Disabilities Week and Pride. Then I will either go to my referrals, and these are patients we are aware of ahead of their visits, and find ways to support them by providing the preparations, using appropriate toys and books, distractions, and talking about what happens afterwards. However, if I don't have a lot of referrals or no referrals, I will base myself in the phlebotomy area, so that's the blood test area, and support children having blood tests and sometimes ECHOs and ECGs, in addition to doing fun activities and chatting to patients and parents who are waiting.
Then it's generally my break and my afternoon will continue in a similar fashion from this morning, but I'll be writing up notes for this morning or doing things around the ward like decorating it for the various events. But I think my favourite part of the day is when I can sit down with a child before they go in for a blood test and do an activity like colouring. Colouring is underrated. It's just an amazing activity to get children to talk and the patient will engage with it and their anxiety around waiting times will be reduced. And it gives me an opportunity to build a relationship with the child before they have a procedure. So when they go in, if they want me there, I've already got that pre-existing play specialist patient relationship.
BH: My day starts the same as Helen's, so with a good clean. Then I work with the play specialist to see what children are in and we would arrange an activity for the playroom. After, after discussing who is on the ward and who can leave their room due to infections I will offer play sessions to those children who can't leave their room and see if they would like a play session and if they did, what they would like to do.
And one, one thing that I find is like, flexibility, you know, no two days are the same, you know, and we have to constantly like, think on our feet and be adaptable to the children who we are about to see on the ward and how they are feeling on that day. And yeah, fundamentally, what we aim to do is create joyful moments in their day.
SA: We keep coming back to this word joy, which I just think is wonderful and it just sounds like such a fulfilling role and so important as well. And we've talked a little bit about this already when you were telling us about the child Helen, but what kind of response do you generally get from babies, children, young people and their families when you provide therapeutic play in the hospital?
HS: Often it's things like gratitude and like some people, for example, like doing this podcast, for example, aren't aware of what services play can do the type of things we can provide. So the response we generally get from families is very positive and they don't always realize there's a play service available for them and there's the amazing resource they can reach out for and use. So we get a lot of gratitude from them. We get positive feedback. We get parents who ask us for our names, for example, so they can name us when they want to, like, patient feedback.
We also are able to offer some tips and advice for like, taking home and it can be adapted for them. For example, we can help a child prepare for an echo with a rollerball. The parents will buy the gel and they can practice at home and we can just send these resources home under parental supervision, including guides, prep and safe equipment. And often parents are really grateful for this because these are things you can't actually always buy in the shop. So the fact we're willing to kind of provide it and we can personalize it to suit the child. So if they like Bob the Builder, for example, we could do a whole social story about Bob the Builder having a blood test or an echo.
We also get to have deeper connections with the family and we, we share a playful time and activity and memory making. Like I've worked with a patient whose parent documented every procedure with a photo to record their journey and remind them what they're capable of doing. And I feel this is so lovely because it just reminds us that children and families are really resilient and they can just, they can do it.
And I think I'd like to say the most important thing that take away from this is that it's okay to play in hospitals. You don't need to just sit in a waiting area or sit around with nothing to do. You can engage with play, even if there aren't toys available, like some hospitals won’t always have toys and things available, some wards and areas don't, but you can play, you can make games up, like you can play I Spy or various word games, and it's just a lovely way to engage with the children and just make it a more safe and joyful environment.
SA: Yeah, what a fantastic sentiment.
SSL: We can't we we can't bang on about that enough, Sarah. I think there is this really misconception of you must not play if you're in hospital because it's a really serious place. Hospitals evoke a plethora of feelings for both children, young people and families. And so we have to get the balance right and what the play team are amazing at doing is assessing that need quite quickly and on the ground as they're walking around. So they're able to distinguish whether it's a high energy, loud session or whether we need to bring the volume down and it making a, making it a safe grounding play session. And I think, you know, that is the skill of the play worker and the play specialists we've got within the team is that they're able to do that very quickly.
SA: Yeah, absolutely. I would love to keep having this conversation with you, but we do need to wrap it up. And there are three more episodes left to come, so do keep an ear out for that. But where can people go if they want to find out more about what we've spoken about today?
SSL: Gosh, so there are so many different ways that you can find out a little bit more for sure. The top of the list would be the Society of Health Play Specialists. They have a really active and informative website. We have our own Instagram page and interestingly, when Helen was talking about the parents saying thank you, often they will send us messages via the Play Team Instagram account, just to say what a great experience they've had. There's lots about the team and the different aspects of the team on the Great Ormond Street Hospital website, as well as the charity website. But, you know, do reach out to your local play teams in your hospitals and say hello, because they would absolutely love it, because we love it. And it's interesting that to find out more because there's been a real shift in play being on the agenda of recent years, and certainly in the last year and so it's important probably to share that there is a really big workforce development strategy coming about around the role of play and the different roles within play in hospital. And that's something that the Starlight Foundation, um, the Society of Health Play Specialists and Skills for Health are working on. And so they're creating a play manifesto as well. Even in the last 24 hours, our wonderful play specialist Holly, um, has been involved in a project with NHS Careers. And yesterday it went live, her video, which talks all about her role as a health play specialist and the career pathway and entry requirements. So do check that out too.
SA: Wonderful. I'll make sure everything is linked down below. Um, And I'm really glad that it's in there in the workforce strategy as well, because I think sometimes as medical professionals, we focus a lot on the medicine and we forget that there is a child in front of us and those kids are scared and those kids enjoy play. And I think raising awareness and having more play specialists and play workers is just so important in paediatrics going forward.
SSL: Absolutely. And working together is all that we're all about. So if we can work alongside our AHP and our medical and clinical and surgical colleagues to make the patient experience better for children and young people and their families through play, then we are all for that, and happily will hold out that hand of friendship for sure.
SA: Fantastic. Last question. Um, What are your takeaway learning points?
SSL: Wow, that is such a great question. I'm going to say that I hope that we've shared something new on this podcast, that we've, um, inspired perhaps the next generation of health play specialists and play workers, that we've opened up topics for conversation and discussion around the importance of play, and the importance of making children and young people feel safe in healthcare, but also supporting that long term journey for some of our children and young people.
SA: Fantastic. Sian, Helen, Ben, thank you so very much for talking with me today.
Thank you for listening to this episode of GOSHpods – PlayPods. You can find out more about the play team at their Instagram page @GOSHPlayTeam. We would love to get your feedback on the podcast and any ideas you may have for future episodes. You can find a link to the feedback page in the episode description or email us at
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We hope you enjoyed this episode and we'll see you next time. Goodbye.
Thank you for listening to this episode of GOSHpods Play Pods. You can find out more about the play team at their Instagram page @GOSHPlayTeam. The links are in the description.
