FAQs

Giggle Doctors have an agreement with our partner hospitals which tells them where they can visit in the hospital. One or two Giggle Doctors will usually visit weekly on an agreed day, although at some sites they visit more or less frequently. The Giggle Doctors can visit all paediatric wards, receiving information from the nurses and the play team about who they can see. Giggle Doctors will usually spend around 10-15 minutes with each child and they will improvise their interactions to suit the child’s needs. This approach means that each interaction is unique and helps to put smiles back on the faces of children and their loved ones.

Giggle Doctors are not volunteers, they are high-quality, committed and professional artists and are paid for their work with the charity.

It takes two full years to become a Giggle Doctor and our rigorous training programme takes a huge commitment from the recruits. They are trained in infection control, safeguarding, and how to improvise artistic interactions in the hospital environment. They are also trained in hard artistic skills such as balloons, origami and magic. Trainee Giggle Doctors also spend at least 12 days on the ward assisting a Senior Giggle Doctor to help them to develop their practice, style and character.

Visit our ‘Where We Visit’ page to see if the hospital is one of our partners and to see which day of the week we are there. If we do visit the hospital, you can speak to a member of the play team to find out more about our partnership with the hospital. If the Giggle Doctors don’t visit the hospital, you can still receive a unique Giggle Doctor experience for your child digitally. Head to out Virtual Visits page to find out more.

Unfortunately, we aren’t able to arrange individual Giggle Doctor visits for a particular child, but you can request a digital Giggle Doctor experience for your child at any time. Click here to find out about our Giggle Doctor Virtual Visits and Giggle-a-Gram messages, which are free and available to all children in clinical settings in the UK or receiving treatment at home.

We are always open to conversations with new hospitals about setting up a Giggle Doctor partnership. Please contact enquiries@theodora.org to set up an introductory meeting. Please note that we have to ensure that funds are sourced to cover the costs of all of our hospital partner programmes.

All of our Giggle Doctors have an enhanced DBS check and follow our Safeguarding Policy. They always get permission from the children before approaching them. Nurses also inform us whether or not to visit a particular child. Our service is one of the few things in hospital children have a say in. Follow the link below to read our most recent Safeguarding Policy.