My Story

Hello and welcome to our Toy Appeal fundraiser!

Your contribution will leave a lasting impact that will benefit children all year round. Explore how your donations can make a difference for our youngest patients and learn more about the importance of play in our services below.

A message from the play specialist team

We are Janine & Geraldine and we are the play team on the Paediatric Wards at East Surrey Hospital.

As a team we provide specialist therapeutic and holistic services to support babies, children and young people. Our aim is to support children and young people's hospital journey by creating positive experiences, allowing them to reduce anxieties, build resilience and improve wellbeing.

Janine is a Registered Health Play Specialist and has worked with children of various ages, over a number of years. 

As a Registered Health Play Specialist, Janine uses play as a therapeutic tool to help children understand their illness and treatment, and works with healthcare professionals. Janine uses medial play equipment to prepare children for all hospital procedures such as injections, operations and various scans i.e MRI's. She supports children and young people in establishing strategies to enable them to deal with stressful medical and surgial proedures.

"What I like most about my role is making difference to a child or young persons experience of the hospital environment."

Geraldine has also worked with children for a number years and is currently studying FdA Healthcare Play Specialism under the apprenticeship scheme.

As an apprentice, Geraldine offers much needed normalised play and distraction for the children on the paediatric wards.

"I like to help eliminate anxieties children may feel, sometimes of apprehension - triggered by children thinking of their procedures which could be painful, and helping them through their care by bringing them toys to take their mind away from the clinical setting. The look of happiness on their faces is priceless."

The difference you will make

Currently we are looking to replenish our play resources, below are a few examples of how your donation can make a difference.

£10 would enables us to buy much needed arts and craft materials which will give a child the distraction they need whilst being in hospital. 

£50 would enable us to buy interactive play equipment. For example; musical mobiles for our babies, wipable plastic toys for toddlers.

£100 which give us the opportunity to provide visits such as musical entertainment, Princesses, Super Hero's or Magicians for all the patients on the wards to enjoy and offer some escape from the hospital environment.

£1000 could help see us purchase Smart TV's for the inpatient ward or help us buy sensory play equipment for our patients with complex needs.

£2,500 would also gives us the opportunity to purchase some RockingR Gaming Consoles for the various paediatric departments. We have found that patients are requesting gaming consoles as these are what are most familiar to them and offers vital normalised play and distraction for young people.

£3,000 could help towards replacing our much loved and greatly missed Rhino Sensory Trolley. All patients benefited from this especially children with learning difficulties as it offers a calming sensory environment.

Thank you for reading this appeal, your donations will make a  HUGE difference throughout the year!!