The psychological and social needs of sick children are being met by the ‘Child Life’ services, which is a specialized service offered at Manipal Hospital Bangalore only. The collaboration is between Manipal Hospital and Priyanka Foundation; a US based NGO, and is exemplified by having a designated unique play room and dedicated play time for all the hospitalized children.
The cancer hospitals in India, like most others, provide quality medical treatment, but there is limited awareness and resources to offer emotional and educational support to the patients and their families. Most Indian hospitals do not have a child life support system in place, where children can learn to cope up with their medical challenges.
According to Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal, Medical Director, Manipal Hospital,” We are very pleased to be associated with Priyanka Foundation and its unique services towards ‘Child Life’. These services are brought in to improve the healthcare experiences for children by providing them to play and prepare them mentally which are very necessary for the emotional stability and healthy development of hospitalized children while mitigating the fear and pain associated with treatment.”
Leela Rao, Founder and Global Executive Director, Priyanka foundation said, “Priyanka Foundation began as a promise from me to my daughter to broaden awareness of global child life service programs for the terminally and chronically-ill children. Our pioneering partnership with Manipal Hospitals has been since 2007 and we are grateful to them for the association to integrate the ‘Child Life’ services. This development program works with families to help them cope up with stress and overcome the fear.” Needless to say we are creating a new genre of jobs in the Indian Healthcare system, she adds.
Case 1:
4-year old, Praveen, (name changed on request) who is very friendly, was scared of hospitals. He is accompanied by his mother and occasionally by his elder brother to the hospital. Praveen is suffering from Thalassemia, for which he visits blood bank once in a month for blood transfusion. The blood transfusion process is lengthy process which takes the entire day and is not easy for a child to cope up with it. The process made Praveen very tensed about the procedure, but the Child Life services at Manipal Hospital Bangalore helped him and his parents to overcome the fear. Through Child Life service, Praveen selects his favorite toy which gives him the motivation to come for the transfusion. He loves coloring and likes to play with toy cars and stack cups. He also gets a reinforcement sticker post the transfusion process which makes him more confident for the next session.
The Child Life service has played a vital role to Praveen’s parents also wherein they could see that their son forgets the pain and takes the process very seriously.
Case 2:
Dinesh, (name changed on request) a 7 year old boy, has been visiting the hospital for his treatment of Leukemia since last year. Presently he is under surveillance and has to visit the hospital once every month for his Blood Counts. Child Life service has shown him, how to forget fear by giving him all sorts of innovative games and dedicated play time. The service has helped him so much that he even calls up the hospital to select his favorite toy. He is very comfortable at the hospital so much that he has made it his second home and without hesitation he comes for the regular check up.
He is accompanied by his parents and younger sister who are his support system. Dinesh loves to play with toy cars and sorting puzzles. Child life services have made Dinesh much stronger and he is responding very well. His parents are very happy to see the change in the nature of their child and Dhruv is leading a normal life.
Case 3:
While the whole world was welcoming the New Year on January 1 2012 with various celebrations, a 6 year old Rahul (name changed on request) was brought to Manipal Hospital with numb fingers after his left hand got stuck in the elevator. The patient underwent plastic surgery and right now he is undergoing physiotherapy.
Initially Rahul was very concerned about his hand as his fingers had turned black. He also had that fear at the back of his mind that his hand will never be normal again and will have to lead a life using only one hand. Seeing this, the members of Child Life services helped him with useful ways of how to take care of his fingers. Knowing his interest in playing creative video games, Child Care service provided him with unique games so that he can overcome his fears. It’s been almost 6 months that Rithik met with an accident, and he is responding very well to the physiotherapy treatment.
His parents were very pleasantly surprised to see the improvement in Rithik’s hand and are very enthusiastic about the Child Life Service.
About Manipal Hospitals:
Manipal Health Enterprises (MHE) is a leading healthcare provider, delivering quality healthcare in India. It is part of the Manipal Education & Medical Group. MHE operates its healthcare network under the brand of “Manipal Hospitals”.
MHE manages an aggregate of 4,400 beds among 15 hospitals, over 10 locations across 4 States in South India. The network of hospitals covers all levels of delivery from primary to secondary to tertiary to quaternary care. It has, over the years, built a significant, committed clinical and healthcare skill pool of over 1,500 doctors and 5,500 nurses, paramedics and support staff, dedicated to its core values of “clinical excellence, patient centricity and ethical practices” and thereby, delivering the highest standards of healthcare to patients. MHE’s hospital network annually services 1.75 million patients in India and from abroad. Sourced From: Perfect Relations PR,
