Occasional reviewThe working life of a play specialist

Imagine that you are feeling ill or in pain, worse than you have ever felt before but you do not know why. You are taken urgently in an ambulance to an alien environment hosting different smells and sounds. You are bombarded with questions but all you can think about is why you are in pain and what is going to happen to you? Now imagine if you were a child going through this with less life experience and a lower level of understanding. In this situation a play specialist can help by supporting the social and emotional needs of the child and their family during a time when they are feeling at their most vulnerable. It is not always possible to achieve the perfect illness outcome for every patient but remembering that their emotional state is just as important as their medical condition means that at least the whole team is able to offer all that can be done to care for their specific needs. This holistic approach means caring for the person, not just their symptoms. Conditions, personalities, past experiences, pain thresholds and levels of understanding vary in each individual, so there is no predicting how each patient will react; but there are numerous ways that the play team can support a child and ensure that care for the child's emotional needs is offered, to complement the medical care. This article aims to aid your understanding of how play can be used in hospitals allowing children to feel safe, welcomed - and even entertained. I will discuss specific techniques that play specialists can use to help children and young people feel better prepared and equipped to cope with different aspects of being hospitalised and I will touch on how play specialists can be of direct assistance to various medical staff within the work place, with some examples. I shall highlight some challenges and many successes, as well as identifying play service improvements throughout our trust.