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Hospital Play Specialist

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Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

11d ago

  • Job
    Full-time
    Junior Level
  • Healthcare
    Education & Teaching
  • Reading, +9

AI generated summary

  • You must have a Level Four Diploma in play for sick children, a foundation degree in health care play, and previous experience as a play specialist in a hospital or hospice setting.
  • You will reduce anxiety, provide comfort during procedures, support emotional expression, prepare children for treatments, and document care while engaging with families and promoting development through play.

Requirements

  • Level Four Diploma in specialized play for sick children and young people/EDEXCEL Cert in hospital play specialism/HPSC/HPSEB
  • Or Foundation degree in health care play specialism
  • Full understanding of therapeutic play with the ability to use play specialist techniques to enhance the care of children
  • Has previous experience as a play specialist in Hospital/Hospice setting.

Responsibilities

  • Reducing Anxiety and Stress: Through play, they help children express their feelings, understand their experiences, and alleviate fear or anxiety related to medical treatments or hospitalisation
  • Distraction and Comfort: During medical procedures, they engage children in play or activities that distract them from pain or discomfort, making the experience less frightening.
  • Promoting Development: Play specialists provide age-appropriate activities to encourage cognitive, emotional, and physical development, even in hospital environments.
  • Education and Preparation: They prepare children for medical treatments by using dolls, toys, or drawings to explain what's going to happen in a way the child can understand. This helps demystify the process and reduces fear.
  • Emotional Expression: Play is a natural way for children to express their emotions. Play specialists use therapeutic play to allow children to process and express feelings like fear, anger, or confusion.
  • Family Support: They also offer guidance and support to parents and caregivers, helping them understand their child’s emotional needs and providing strategies to support their child during stressful times.
  • A Play Specialist’s main concern is to meet the play needs of individual children of any age by providing a safe environment and appropriate materials. Through play, she/he attempts to maintain the children’s contact with home and family. Also to ease the adjustment to a strange and often frightening environment.
  • To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the needs of the child in hospital. May be expected to demonstrate her/his own skills to other members of staff and students.
  • To encourage normal development of the child by using play as a development aid. Participates in the assessment of care needs and the implementation of programmes of care.
  • Through play, helping familiarise the child with strange apparatus and procedures, and supporting him/her throughout his/her stay in hospital with pre-operative and post operative play.
  • Will document and keep accurate records of all areas of her/his work.

FAQs

What is the main role of a Hospital Play Specialist?

The main role of a Hospital Play Specialist is to reduce anxiety and stress in children through play, provide distraction and comfort during medical procedures, promote cognitive, emotional, and physical development, educate and prepare children for medical treatments, facilitate emotional expression, and offer support to families.

What qualifications are required for this position?

The essential qualifications include a Level Four Diploma in specialized play for sick children and young people, an EDEXCEL Certificate in hospital play specialism, or a Foundation degree in health care play specialism.

Is previous experience as a play specialist necessary?

While it is not mandatory, previous experience as a play specialist in a hospital or hospice setting is desirable for this role.

What are the main duties of a Play Specialist?

The main duties include meeting the play needs of individual children, demonstrating knowledge of children's needs in a hospital, providing age-appropriate play activities, familiarizing children with medical apparatus, documenting the work accurately, and supporting families.

Is this position suitable for flexible working?

Yes, we encourage applications from individuals wishing to work on a flexible basis, acknowledging that flexibility may include various working patterns and hours to meet both staff and service needs.

What is the emphasis of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust in terms of employee support?

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust emphasizes providing first-class development opportunities, promoting a healthy work-life balance, and actively supporting staff in their professional growth.

How does the play specialist help children during medical procedures?

The play specialist engages children in play or activities that distract them from pain or discomfort, making medical procedures less frightening and helping them cope with their experiences.

What kind of activities do Play Specialists use to promote development?

Play Specialists use age-appropriate activities that facilitate cognitive, emotional, and physical development, tailored to the individual needs of children in hospital.

How do Play Specialists educate children about medical treatments?

They prepare children for medical treatments by using dolls, toys, or drawings to explain what is going to happen in a way that a child can understand, helping to demystify the process and reduce fear.

What is the overall mission of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust regarding patient care?

The mission of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is to improve health and care services for their communities, delivering excellence in health and well-being through continuous investment in services and facilities.

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

Our vision is to be a leader in health and wellbeing, delivering exceptional services for our communities.

Science & Healthcare
Industry
10,001+
Employees
2014
Founded Year

Mission & Purpose

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. As well as a performing, well led and ambitious Foundation Trust, we have exciting times ahead of us. The Trust’s vision is to lead in delivering exceptional health and well being services to our communities. Turning our vision into reality, we are continuing to make significant invest in our infrastructure and facilities, striving for excellence and empowering our people to deliver excellence. Providing a supportive, dynamic MDT working environment, allowing our teams to deliver high quality patient care and achieving work life balance, whilst encouraging continuous professional development. We are proud of the ambitions laid out in our strategy, Our Future FHFT, including our vision to be a leader in Health & Wellbeing, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. Services are delivered from three main hospital sites: Frimley Park Hospital (Camberley) Heatherwood Hospital (Ascot) Wexham Park Hospital (Slough) Additionally, the Trust delivers outpatient and diagnostic services from Aldershot, Farnham, Fleet, Windsor, Maidenhead and Bracknell bringing a range of services closer to these communities. We are also proud to host the Defence Medical Group South East at Frimley Park with military surgical, medical and nursing personnel working alongside the hospital's NHS staff providing care to patients in all specialties. We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR – Epic – went live in June 2022 and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment. Our three core values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients.