Cape Town - The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital will see a lot more children eager to attend hospital visits and fewer children saddened by lengthy hospital stays, having added four new therapeutic play areas.
The R12.6 million therapeutic play areas were launched by the Children’s Hospital Trust yesterday at a fair-themed event. The main therapeutic play area, located at the hospital’s main entrance, brings a burst of colour and various forms of amusement.
The area consists of tunnels, ladders, bridges, slides, miniature walls to climb with ropes, and many other pieces of playground equipment.
Hospital CEO Dr Anita Parbhoo said a multidisciplinary team of experts worked together with the Children’s Hospital Trust to ensure suitable play areas were created, taking into account the needs of the multitude of children attending.
“We have children with various abilities who need to come to the hospital for specialised clinical care. To us, this is not just a playground, but a safe place where children of all abilities are able to play and explore the world around them,” Parbhoo said.
Parbhoo thanked the many donors, a number of whom were present, for contributing to the project with their generosity to leave an indelible mark for years to come.
“Children learn through play, so if they are hospitalised for a long period and don’t have access to play, it actually has a negative effect on their development, so it’s important to try to contribute to that, even while they’re in a hospital.”
The Children’s Hospital Trust is the hospital’s primary fund-raising driver for specific projects. After the expansion and upgrade to the hospital’s emergency centre, the need for a specially designed playground was identified.
Children’s Hospital Trust CEO Chantel Cooper said the playgrounds will be used by physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
There are four therapeutic play areas in total, with the other two inside the hospital, and another at the hospital’s psychiatric unit.
As safety was of paramount importance, microfibre flooring imported from Europe was used to deck the entire area, to ensure that no injuries can occur.
The playground took less than a year to build, with the final touches completed just last week.
Stealing the show was dynamic young speaker Liam January, 12, who said: “This playground is for children to play, that’s obvious, but this playground, it’s also giving them exercise in a way.”
January, who uses a wheelchair for mobility, was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition in which bones fracture easily, sometimes with no obvious cause or minimal injury.
After the formal programme, which included a ribbon-cutting, children and the adults enjoyed the extravaganza with delectable treats and jugglers moving about.
