Clowndoctors - Frequently Asked Questions

In this section we have tried to answer some questions that are often asked about the Clowndoctors:

1.Who are the Clowndoctors? Are they volunteers? Are they doctors?
2.How many Clowndoctors are in the team?
3.Are the Clowndoctors ward entertainers?
4.What kind of activities do they do?
5.Which children do the Clowndoctors work with?
6.What health care units do they visit and how often?
7.How many children do the Clowndoctors visit in a day?
8.How do the Clowndoctors choose which children get visited?
9.How is the Clowndoctors programme funded?

1.Who are the Clowndoctors? Are they volunteers? Are they doctors?
The Clowndoctors are professional performing artists who have been trained to work with children in a health care setting.   Hearts&Minds looks for the following skills and experience when recruiting new Clowndoctors: at least five years experience in working as a professional artist; experience in using the arts with vulnerable people; professional clowning training; maturity; compassion.   Clowndoctors are not volunteers - they are contracted by Hearts&Minds and paid for each session.   All Clowndoctors must agree to the terms of Hearts&Minds' Confidentiality and Child Protection Policies, as well as undergoing police and health checks with each health-care unit they work in.

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2.How many Clowndoctors are in the team?
Currently there are eleven Clowndoctors in the team - Dr Cheese, Dr D, Dr Foot-Twanger, Dr MacFlea, Dr Molotoff, Dr Pavlova, Dr Poco, Dr Spritely, Dr Sprout, Dr Superdoc, and Dr Wallop. We are currently training two new Clowndoctors who will join the team in April!

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3.Are the Clowndoctors ward entertainers?
No. The Clowndoctors generally work with individual children on a two-to-one basis (the Clowndoctors always work in pairs).   However in order to promote family and group play, the Clowndoctors encourage friends and family members to get involved too. Additionally, because we encourage children to participate as much as possible, we tend to avoid using the word 'entertainment' to describe our work.

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4.What kind of activities do they do?
Activities vary but are always tailored to the needs and abilities of the individual child and are age-appropriate. The Clowndoctors artistic repertoire includes an enormous number of possible activities and themes - use of props (including musical instruments, puppets and scarves); physical slapstick; window play at cubicle windows; songs; storytelling; entrances and exits; magic; improvisations; games. There is a strong focus on multi-sensory work, particularly music and sound, in order to include participants with physical and learning disabilties. We have received funding from the Scottish Arts Council in order to enable us to develop our multi-sensory approach.

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5.Which children do the Clowndoctors work with?
The Clowndoctors work with children aged 6 months to 18 years, throughout a wide range of medical departments including: general medical; general surgical; ENT; haematology and oncology; asthma; neurology; rheumatology; endocrine; metabolic; diabetes; cardiology; ophthalmology; dermatology; psychology and immunology.   They frequently work with children who are fully dependent, children who have profound multiple disabilities and children who have life-limiting illnesses and neuro-degenerative conditions.

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6.What health care units do they visit and how often?
The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh - two visits per week
The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow - two visits per week

The Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital - two visits per week
Rachel House hospice in Kinross - one visit per week
Two residentials units for children with complex nursing needs, Calareidh (Edinburgh) and Sunndach (Livingston) - one visit to each unit per fortnight

Ninewells Hospital, Dundee - three visits per year
Raigmore Hospital, Inverness - three visits per year

The programme runs for forty weeks of the year, with breaks at Christmas, Easter and in July/August.

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7.How many children do the Clowndoctors visit in a day?
It depends on the health care unit. In a hospital, it will generally be 20 referred children, while in a hospice it will be 7. Additionally, children, family members and staff are included in every visit.

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8.How do the Clowndoctors choose which children get visited?
In fact they don't! An important part of the programme is that health care staff refer individual children to the Clowndoctors and give a reason for the referral plus basic information about the child's age, interests and medical condition.   Some long-term children are referred to the Clowndoctors on a regular basis during their stay. Family members can also request Clowndoctors visits.

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9.How is the Clowndoctors programme funded?
Registered charity Hearts&Minds has an ongoing fundraising campaign to continue to provide the Clowndoctors programme to participating units.   At present 50% of our funding is from charitable trusts and foundations, with remainder from a variety of sources: the Scottish Arts Council, the Scottish Executive, the health sector, local authorities, businesses and individuals.

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