Donations to Leeds Hospitals Charity are supporting a pioneering play-led initiative for young patients with diabetes at Leeds Children’s Hospital.

Children under twelve, who are living with Type 1 diabetes, and their families, are invited to take part in a series of events supported by charity funding throughout the year. One of these events is an annual teddy bear clinic, a novel concept which encourages children to step away from their diagnosis and use specially modified teddies to engage with their peers through play while learning more about the condition.

Leeds Children’s Hospital currently supports over 500 children and young people under 20, living with Type 1, Type 2 and monogenic diabetes. Of these, over 180 children and young people are all invited to attend the teddy bear clinic, focusing on paediatric diabetes education.

Children are invited to the Diabetes Centre at St James’s Hospital, where they are given passports and join a trail in the style of a treasure hunt, taking their teddies to different activity stations.

With support from the Play Team, children learn how to give injections, insert insulin pumps and cannulas, the importance of exercise and diabetes, using hula hoops or doing star jumps, going on holiday, plan a healthy meal for their cuddly friends and think about the psychological impact of living with diabetes. Families who attend can also enjoy healthy drinks and snacks, pre carbohydrate counted by the teams’ dietitians.

The concept was first introduced by one of the hospital play specialists who was keen to implement the initiative after reading about it in an American health journal.

Lisa Beaumont, Therapeutic and Specialised Play Manager, speaks of her joy at the success of the service:

“Just being able to see the look on a child’s face when they see another child with the same sensor or putting a pump on their teddy bear, knowing they are not alone, is a phenomenal feeling.”

The funding provided by Leeds Hospitals Charity makes a huge difference to what the diabetes team can offer. Originally the clinics were run on a shoestring, but now staff can plan to do so much more.

Lisa says, “The funding opens so many doors for us, allowing us to support more and more families living with diabetes. Without donations we couldn’t put on half of the things that we do, and the impact on children’s lives is so amazing. We are so grateful for this.” 

Now, Leeds Children’s Hospital is believed to be one of the first places in the country to run this type of diabetes education event, with over 100 families having benefitted from these events in the two years since it launched.

By making medical play the focus of the sessions, the Play Team hopes to aid understanding of the condition by normalising it and giving children the opportunity to meet others in their age group in the same situation.

Another benefit of the service is the opportunity for peer-to-peer support between families. By bringing people together in a group setting, children and their families can see others experience the same everyday challenges, like glucose monitors going off, and realise that they are not alone. 

Before this initiative, there was no specific play led group education sessions for children this age and minimal peer support opportunities.