The Clowndoctors
The Clowndoctors are a team of carefully chosen, professional performers who undergo specialist training to work with children in hospital and hospice, residential or respite care.
Why the Clowndoctors?
For the children we work with there can be a range of issues alongside their medical condition, such as feelings of powerlessness, boredom, loss of self-esteem, difficulties with communication, social or physical skills, or coping with procedures which may be painful, distressing or confusing. Our Clowndoctors programme offers individual, playful intervention that helps to normalise the health care environment. Our activities often result in laughter but the Clowndoctors’ main aim is to see beyond the illness and make a connection with the individual child.
Who we visit
We visit children from 6 months to 18-years-old with a wide range of medical conditions including:
- short-stay patients in hospital for a routine procedure
- long-stay patients
- children who are fully dependent or have life-limiting illnesses
- children with physical and learning difficulties
- children with complex special needs
- children with emotional and behavioural difficulties
Our vision is to expand Clowndoctor visits to every children’s hospital, ward, residential respite unit and hospice in Scotland.
