In this report we celebrate 30 years of Theodora Children’s Charity, as well as significant anniversaries with some of our hospital partners. The report also touches on a new Giggle Doctor training model and explores the wider impacts of Giggle Doctor visits not only on the children themselves, but also on their families and the staff caring for them in hospital.
If you are interested in finding out about our Giggle Doctor training, supporting evidence of our work, and the difference our visits make, click below!
“The first time we met the Giggle Doctors was when Josie was an outpatient. Josie had been upset after an ultrasound, and we were taking some time in the waiting area. She sat in her buggy with her twin sister, Emily, and we heard the Giggle Doctors before we saw them!”
“Dr Bungee was playing an arpeggio on his guitar and was walking around smiling and saying hello. He had a gentle, calming presence. Josie’s ears pricked up and she was intrigued. Dr Bungee, followed by Dr Gubbins, tentatively sat down next to us.”
“At our request, Dr Bungee played and sang Josie’s favourite theme tune(from CBeebies) andher eyes lit up. Once she was smiling and responding he got out his bottle of bubbles and blew the best bubbles I have ever seen! Bubbles within bubbles! It was all very impressive.”
“Then he made Josie and Emily a balloon flower each and said goodbye. Josie was only 12 months old at the time and didn’t talk much, but she was thrilled to be so entertained. It was lovely to see her enjoying our reactions to everything too. We left the hospital with Josie and Emily much happier and holding their balloon flowers. We were impressed that Dr Bungee’s approach was so appropriate and sensitive to what Josie needed in that moment.”
“Another day, six months later, Josie was admitted to hospital after becoming suddenly very poorly. It was a scary and uncertain time for us. During her recovery she wasn’t able to walk or talk as much as usual. She had been trying to practise walking around by doing laps of the children’s ward and the days seemed very repetitive and boring. Josie had been giving all the lovely staff her best frown. She didn’t want to be there”
“One afternoon she was too shy to enjoy a Giggle Doctor session one to one, butJosie loved watching Dr Muddy Puddle interacting with an older child on the ward. She looked on in amazement as the little girl nearby was full of smiles and giggles. Dr Muddy Puddle made a balloon sculpture and held a presentation ceremony, to award it to the little girl. We clapped as Dr Muddy Puddle handed it over.”
“During the round of applause, there wasa moment between myself and the little girl’s mum. We both appreciated seeing our children smiling again and being more like their normal selves. We chatted together about our children being poorly and how difficult it was. The next day, that little girl gave her balloon sculpture to Josie. It sat on Josie’s hospital bed as a little reminder until we were discharged a few days later.”
“Dr Muddy Puddle certainly brightened the mood on the day. More importantly, she helped us, and Josie, to feel connected to other people, including patients and families. She helped the hospital become more of a relaxed, social space. That down-to-earth human connection, at your most vulnerable time, is powerful because it helps you to embrace the duality of the situation. Things are really rubbish, you’re not where you want to be, but in the most difficult of days, there’s still humour and joy. I wish every child (and their family) in hospital could be visited by the Giggle Doctors!” – Katie, Josie’s mum
A very big thank you to Katie for sharing her and Josie’s story with us, we are so pleased the Giggle Doctors were able to bring you and your family moments of joy and laughter in challenging times.
We are also blown away by Katie’s incredible support, as she took on a running challenge in February to run every single day and fundraise for us, raising an incredible £1,800 including Gift Aid! Thank you for all of the giggles you will help the Giggle Doctors bring to more children in hospital – we couldn’t do it without incredible supporters like you.
After a busy year of training combining artistic skills and healthcare, our four “Trainee” Giggle Doctors have officially received their Certificate of Advanced Studies and graduated to “Junior Giggle Doctors”, meaning they are in their final months of training!
What is the difference between a Trainee, Junior and Senior Giggle Doctor?
Over 20 supervised visits in hospital
For the past 12 months, Tamara, Ines, Amy and Holly had many shifts in hospitals working under the guidance of more experienced Giggle Doctors. Alongside this, they attended workshop days to build their artistic skills, from magic tricks, to music, improvisation, slapstick and balloon modelling.
Ines at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital working alongside Dr Geehee, who has been a Giggle Doctor for 24 years
Trainee Giggle Doctors work alongside experienced Giggle Doctors to learn the many ways to connect with children going through challenging times in hospital. Through the guidance and experience of Senior Giggle Doctors, they are able to learn vital skills on how to creating playful encounters no matter a child’s illness, disability or complex need.
The Art of the Giggle Doctor
Our Trainee Giggle Doctors learnt how to use techniques including Intensive Interaction. This is a specialised approach to communicating with children with complex, profound and multiple learning disabilities, to ensure they are adept at playful and joyful interactions with every child they meet in hospital.
Amy, Ines, Holly and Tamara are now holders of a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in “The Art of the Giggle Doctor”, awarded by the Accademia Dimitri, which offers programmes in creative and artistic practices. Daniel Bausch, teacher at the Accademia Dimitri and one of the trainers of the Giggle Doctors, reflects on the experience:
You need very special skills to be a Giggle Doctor. Improvisation, for example, is a key element of the training. When entering a hospital room, a Giggle Doctor must be able to immediately sense what the child needs.
Daniel Bausch
What a Giggle Doctor offers is so much more than entertainment. They are trained on how to work collaboratively with the different roles within the hospitals, to complement the work of doctors, nurses and play specialists.
Graduation Day
Our Programme Manager and Impact Measurement Lead, Isabel Squires, shares how special it was to watch our Trainee Giggle Doctors present their personal thesis and graduate to Junior Giggle Doctors, marking their official move into joining the Theodora family.
“One of the things which makes Theodora Children’s Charity a unique place to work is everyone is there for a reason: improving the lives of children in hospital. This was nowhere more evident than last week when four Trainee Giggle Doctors from our team here in the UK completed this phase of their training, alongside nine Trainee Giggle Doctors from Switzerland.”
“Being a Giggle Doctor looks like a laugh, but over the past year, these Trainees have shown an astounding commitment to learning, in nearly four weeks of training modules and over twenty hospital shifts. What they’ve learned hasn’t all been fun and games, but it has all worked towards one purpose – putting each child they meet in charge for a few minutes of connection. What does that look like? You’ll have to ask each child, because it’s never the same.”
Holly and Ines on a supervised visit with Dr Hunky Dory and Dr Scribble at Great Ormond Street Hospital
“As someone who works largely on a computer behind the scenes, it was invigorating and inspiring to see the Trainees exploring what it means to be a Giggle Doctor in so much detail.”
“Their personal thesis performances were like a Giggle Doctor visit for adults: just like the children in hospital, we were caught up in the moment of each performance. The Trainee Giggle Doctors brought us all to laughter or pulled us into playfulness just as they do for each child they meet. Even as they explored all the challenges they had grappled with in their training through performance, there was a lightness of touch which signalled what they had all become: Giggle Doctors.”
What’s next for the Junior Giggle Doctors?
Over the next few months after completing the last of their training and progress visits overseen by our Artistic Coordinators, they will be sitting down with Lydia Pfister, our talented seamstress. Together they will design their personalised Giggle Doctor coats based on the Giggle Doctor name they have chosen.
This eagerly awaited moment symbolises the final stages of becoming a fully fledged Senior Giggle Doctor!
Thank you to our funders
A special thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund and Moose Toys for supporting the training of our Trainees. It is thanks to your kind donations that our new Junior Giggle Doctors have been trained to such a high standard, focusing on child-centred play, ensuring vulnerable children’s safety and responding to each child’s needs.
Since 2009, Giggle Doctors have been visiting Bradford Royal Infirmary, part of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, to bring joy and laughter to children and families. Every Thursday, the Giggle Doctors bounce onto the wards to combine music, play, magic and storytelling to bring joy, laughter and magical moments to children when they need it most.
Children admitted to hospital may require regular attendance as a result of surgery, treatment or painful procedures, so for them the hospital experience can be very distressing and frightening. Giggle Doctors work alongside the exceptional Play Team at Bradford Royal Infirmary to help reduce stress and anxiety, create opportunities for play, and improve children’s hospital experience.
Jemma, a parent expressed “I will forever be grateful to the Giggle Doctors who visited my daughter when she was at Bradford Royal Infirmary. In a short space of time the Giggle Doctors really opened her up, got her out of bed and having some fun. She still talks about the experience today and it definitely helped not just her mental health, but mine as her Mum as well to know that she was starting to feel better in herself.” – Jemma
In 2023, the Giggle Doctors brought joy and laughter to 1,368 children, and this year they hope to visit even more. The celebrations on the 21st November marked a wonderful 15 -year partnership between Theodora Children’s Charity and Bradford Royal Infirmary, having worked together to transform children’s experience in hospital and provide vital opportunities for play for over 16,831 children.
Kay Rushforth, Associate Director of Nursing for Children and Neonatal Services at Bradford Royal Infirmary told us “The Giggle Doctors are wonderful. The children love to see them. They make them laugh and at a time when they need to recover in hospital laughter is the best medicine. Please keep up the great work you are truly loved.”
Bradford Hospital’s Charity kindly donated to Theodora Children’s Charity this year, helping fund Giggle Doctor visits for children and families at Bradford Royal Infirmary. It is also thanks to supporters from local Rotary clubs and groups, who have donated to Theodora Children’s Charity over the years, making these magical Giggle Doctor moments possible.
Lisa Williams, Head of Fundraising at Bradford Hospitals Charity shared, “At Bradford Hospitals’ Charity, we are proud to support the incredible work of the Giggle Doctors, who bring smiles, laughter, and a sense of normalcy to children during what can be a difficult time in hospital. Their magic and play provide not only moments of joy but also real comfort and relief for young patients and their families. It’s a joy to witness the transformative impact they have on children’s experiences at Bradford Royal Infirmary.”
Tuesday 3rd December is the launch of this years annual Christmas Big Give Double Donation campaign.
Between the 3rd and 10th December 2024 anything you donate onto our Big Give Page will be doubled at no extra cost to you, and if you are able to tick yes to gift aid thats even more giggles! #DoubleTheDonationDoubleTheGiggles
Even if you can’t donate, please share the work of our Giggle Doctors far and wide- by email, or retweeting/sharing our social media posts.
Since our Christmas 2023 Double Donation campaign we have been able to visit over 15,500 children. This would not have been possible without the kind gifts into our campaign last year, from supporters like you.
If you are able to make a gift of any size, you could be giving children and the talented Giggle Doctors:
For the past decade, since November 2014, Giggle Doctors like Dr Boogie Woogie and Dr Teapot have been visiting Leeds Children’s Hospital – one of the UK’s largest specialist children’s hospitals. Giggle Doctors are professional performers from Theodora Children’s Charity, who undergo specialist training over two years to equip them to work in hospitals and specialist care centres.
Giggle Doctors work alongside the exceptional Play Team at Leeds Children’s Hospital to help reduce stress and anxiety, create opportunities for play, and improve children’s hospital experience. Every Monday, two Giggle Doctors bounce onto the wards to combine music, play, magic and storytelling to bring joy, laughter and magical moments to children when they need it most.
Emma, a Senior Healthcare Play Specialist at Leeds Children’s Hospital expressed,
“I absolutely love their visits! I love how it lightens the mood on the ward (after all, laughter can be catching!) The whole ward just seems even more fun and happy during a visit. This helps the children engage together too, which helps promote the playful environment we strive to achieve.”
Children admitted to hospital may require regular attendance for surgery, treatment or what can be painful procedures, so for them the hospital experience can be very distressing and frightening.
When explaining the difference visits make, the Therapeutic and Specialised Play Manager Lisa Beaumont shared,
“The Giggle Doctors make such a positive impact to all our sick children; they bring smiles and laughter at what can be a very sad and difficult time. Many of our children spend huge periods of time accessing very specialised care at Leeds Children’s Hospital and are often also a long way from family and friends. The Giggle Doctors really do help make such a difference to so many sick children during their wonderful visits.”
In just 6 months the Giggle Doctors brought joy and laughter to 1,166 children, and by the end of December 2024 they will have carried out 100 visits at Leeds Children’s Hospital – their largest ever number in a single year! Their visits also play a significant role in easing the anxiety of parents/carers as they see their child laugh, often for the first time in a long-time. They contribute towards the positive atmosphere on the ward and can help improve the mood for NHS members of staff too.
This Giggle Doctor Take Over Day celebrated the wonderful 10-year partnership between Theodora Children’s Charity and Leeds Children’s Hospital working together to transform children’s experience in hospital and provide vital opportunities for play for over 7,000 children since 2014 – and aimed to break the record number of giggles for children, families and members of staff in hospital in just one day!
Logan Ann is only 2 years old, but she’s already experienced many hospital stays at Southampton Children’s Hospital. The doctors and nurses do a wonderful job of looking after her complex medical conditions, but there’s so much more to being 2!
It was her first day out of isolation when Logan Ann met Dr Ding Dong and Dr Dotty. As Logan Ann’s Granny said to us, “You can see her delight at being with them in the photos, they were the best tonic after being in isolation.”
You can’t always see it easily, especially when children are as bubbly and loving as Logan Ann, but repeated stays in hospital – especially with periods spent in isolation – can leave a big trauma footprint for children. While other children her age can play with their friends and go to the playground and have new experiences every day, Logan Ann and her family have to take extra care of germs and bugs. Of course keeping her health safe is vital, but it does mean that Logan Ann sometimes misses out on opportunities to develop her social and communication skills with other children her own age.
That’s where the Giggle Doctors come in. They have training in child development, so they understand how children usually like to play, communicate, and have fun. They also have training about how this varies for children with complex conditions.
Calling on all this training, Giggle Doctors can provide children with playful encounters which do much more than just bring a sparkle of laughter to their day. The chance for a real connection and a playful moment can reduce a child’s stress and anxiety and help humanise the hospital environment.
This means so much for mums, dads and carers too: “What a fabulous day to come out of isolation, thank you for everything you and your team do for children like Logan Ann,” her Granny told us. She’s always so attentive to what’s best for Logan Ann, but meeting Dr Ding Dong and Dr Dotty brightened her day too. It’s so important not just for a parent to see their child happy, but also for a child like Logan Ann to see her mum having fun too!
It might look like a few bubbles and some smiles, but these pictures of Logan Ann with the Giggle Doctors really tell a much more important story about how vital the chance for communication, connection, and joy are for young children with complex medical and developmental needs and their families.
Hugh James Solicitors have supported us for the past five years. We caught up with Deborah Sleightholme, Partner and Head of Strategic Relationships to hear about what our partnership means to them.
Tell us about Hugh James and how you decide which charities you’d like to support.
Hugh James is a top full-service national law firm with offices in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Southampton, and Plymouth.
We have a long history of supporting people who have been seriously injured and bereaved and believe in empowering people at the worst time of their lives and helping them move forward. We see ourselves as very much part of the circle of support, working closely with and alongside the emergency services and medical professionals.
We recognise that Charities like Theodora Children’s Charity have a vital role to play and can make a huge positive difference to the children and families who, like all our clients, find themselves on a difficult journey they did not choose to embark on.
It goes without saying that we’re very grateful for your support here at Theodora Children’s Charity – could you tell us what drew you to Theodora Children’s Charity and our Giggle Doctors initially?
A lawyer based in our London office came across Theodora Children’s Charity and the Giggle Doctors through a family she was working with. When she shared what the charity does with colleagues, there was an overwhelming desire to support its work.
Anything that can be done to bring a smile to the faces of children undergoing treatment in hospital and make the experience that little bit less scary is always going to tug at the heart strings, especially when you hear André, Theodora’s son talk about why the charity was set up in the first place.
One little boy we met in 2024 called Rory said: “The Giggle Doctors are like real doctors because they made me feel better, but in a different way.” It’s wonderful for us to hear feedback like this about how a Giggle Doctor visit has helped a child feel like themselves again, but what’s it like for you as a supporter to hear about children like Rory?
Knowing our support has helped bring a smile and make a difference to a child and their family going through something most of us can’t imagine is very humbling and makes you want to do more to help raise awareness of what Theodora Children’s Charity does so even more children can benefit from the programme.
Hearing feedback from the children who have benefitted from the Giggle Doctor visits makes it all worthwhile!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about what it’s like to be a corporate donor?
There is a fun and feel-good factor to what Theodora Children’s Charity does which is uplifting, whilst recognising the severity of what those who benefit from it services are going through.
We have held 2 comedy nights now to raise funds for the charity which aligns very well to the cause. Smiles and laughter sit alongside learning more about the important work the charity does. As a corporate donor, we want to be pro-active, and make sure as many people as possible know about Theodora and its Giggle Doctor programme.
Why do you think play in hospital is important?
For most people, a child spending a long period of time in hospital with a serious illness is unthinkable. The reality is devastating. The child and family need a huge amount of support.
Sadly, we are acutely aware of all that, as we see it through the work we do at Hugh James.
Whilst retaining normality is hard, we need to remember that a child is still a child. Play is a huge part of a child’s development so it’s vital to ensure they can still enjoy that time. The Giggle Doctors help facilitate that, interjecting an appropriate level of fun and carefree that is missing from the severity of treatment, and for me, if that helps brighten a child’s day even just a little and helps them forget reality for a short time, it’s well worth it.
Hugh James Solicitors
Deborah Sleightholme is a Partner and Head of Strategic Relationships at Hugh James Solicitors who have supported Theodora Children’s Charity for the past 5 years.
If you would like to order a pack of our Christmas cards this year just follow the link below. Each pack contains 10 of the design seen above.
Not only will they bring a smile to the person receiving the card, but they will also give the gift of smiles and laughter to children living with illness, disability and serious health challenges in hospital.
It costs £5 plus postage for a pack of 10 cards, with 100% profits from each sale helping to fund our magical Giggle Doctor visits to children in hospital.
We are looking for a Giggle Doctor Programme Administrator to join our busy programme team, to support the day-to-day operations of our Giggle Doctor programme for hospitals.
This is a part-time, one-year contract to support the running of the Giggle Doctor programme while a member of the team is on maternity leave. We are flexible as to which days are worked, providing that the post-holder has a fixed working pattern over a minimum of 3 days per week. This post requires work from the office as well as some work from home. We will provide training to the successful candidate on how to fulfil the key tasks of the role.
Please send a CV and one-page Cover Letter demonstrating your previous experience and suitability linked to the person specification and job description to enquiries@theodora.org. Please also attach a completed Equality and Diversity Monitoring form.
