Paediatric team PPE made more child-friendly
YOUNG patients are now being welcomed with familiar cartoon characters on facemasks of paediatric therapies staff at Basildon Hospital, to help make essential PPE less scary. And it’s already proving to be a big hit with the little ones.
Children who are anxious and have had to come into hospital were finding facemasks rather frightening. This prompted therapy assistant Sarah Turner to safely adapt face shields to cartoon themed versions.
Sarah printed and laminated popular characters including Dory from Finding Nemo, Minnie Mouse and Wonder Woman as well as tiaras, jesters’ hats and crowns and fixed them on top of the team’s face shields.
These fun-themed shields now help children to recognise their favourite cartoon characters, enabling staff to be more approachable whilst wearing PPE.
Paediatric physiotherapist Lisa Jones says: “Any child is going to find the normal PPE quite scary because it is out of the ordinary – even if we’re getting used to it now. This adds an element of fun and humour.
“These face shields are now a vital part of our uniform to ensure we protect our patients and we don’t want children to be frightened by them.
“Face masks cover half of our face and it’s important that children can see our facial expressions so they can continue to feel reassured during these unsettling times.”
