Hospital Play Specialist Current Vacancies

2006-11-27:

Hospital play specialists plan and supervise activities with children in hospital and help them express their feelings through play.

They encourage children to develop their creative skills to show their thoughts and worries relating to hospital, helping them to adapt to any restrictions they may have resulting from hospitalisation.

Their work involves: using play to welcome children to hospital; preparing them to cope with surgery or other procedures; enabling them to manage fears about separation from parents; encouraging children to keep up their usual interests; using specific play techniques to minimise stressful events by acting them out in advance.

Hospital play specialists may work full or part-time. They work during the day, at weekends and during school holidays - children may be in hospital all year round.

Hospital play specialists are based in special paediatric wards and other departments where children are admitted.

Hospital play specialists are employed by NHS hospital trusts in hospital wards, outpatient departments, accident and emergency departments, child development centres, hospices and in community work with community paediatricians.

A hospital play assistant can earn between 12,000 and 13,000 a year.
A basic grade hospital play specialist can earn up to 16,600.
Senior hospital play specialists can earn between 19,000 and 22,500. (Permalink)