Wards at the Leeds Children’s Hospital at Leeds General Infirmary are now welcoming their second intake of Bedside Buddies!
The Bedside Buddies are a group of students from the University of Leeds who volunteer to spend time with younger patients while in the hospital.
After the scheme’s debut last year it has been extended in 2017, with around 40 students now signed up.
The students are all accredited volunteers and work in conjunction with and guided by our ward play leaders. They make a big difference to the amount of play and individual attention youngsters receive, so they are a very popular addition to the wards and help extend play into the evenings.
A launch event for this year’s scheme was recently held in The Place 2Be in the Clarendon Wing, with some of the Bedside Buddies coming along to celebrate the partnership with the play leaders and members of the Leeds Children’s Hospital management team.
A number of the students are returning having enjoyed the initiative last year, while others are new to the hospital. They are all very enthusiastic about the opportunity to help youngsters and their parents and to play a part in hospital life.
Play Specialist at the hospital, Lisa Beaumont, said: “The Bedside Buddies are really popular with our young patients and allow us to extend the time available for play and offer more one-to-one activities.
“Feedback from the students so far has been really positive in terms of how much they get in terms of personal satisfaction from working with our team and children in hospital.”
