9th March 2011
Infant school children sample hospital life at Broomfield
Children from Oaklands Infant School in Chelmsford got a taste of hospital life recently when they spent the morning at Broomfield Hospital.
50 year one children, aged between 5 and 6 years, visited the children’s outpatients department and Wizard ward - the new children’s day stay unit. During the morning they were introduced to the equipment in the treatment rooms, found out about the importance of hand hygiene and heard from nursing staff and doctors about what they do in the hospital. They also got the chance to take blood pressure, check pulse rates and temperatures on each other and record their own on an observation chart.
Victoria Bird, sister on Wizard ward and organiser of the event, said: “We are really pleased to have been able to give the children an insight into hospital life. We chose to do it on a morning when we didn’t have any patients in the two departments, and I think the children had a great time at the hospital. We were able to show them what a hospital is really like, so hopefully if they need to visit us they will not be frightened or nervous.”
Whilst in the children’s outpatient department they also got the chance to learn about the trust’s dentistry service as well as being shown the machine that measures heart function. The children have been learning about hospitals and health back in the classroom so this provided the ideal opportunity for them to get some ‘hands on’ experience.
Jacky Langley, deputy head teacher at Oaklands Infant School, said: “On behalf of the children I would like to thank everyone at the hospital who made this visit possible, they really pulled out all of the stops and the children had a great time. It was very valuable first hand experience for small children and it really brought our topic to life, making the learning more meaningful. I am sure it is something that they won’t forget in a hurry.”
ENDS
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