play in healthcare

Play in healthcare: why support for children matters more than ever
Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive

As we mark Play in Healthcare Week (5–9 October 2026), the recent Guardian report highlighting the chronic shortage of health play professionals across English hospitals is an important reminder of just how much pressure hospital play teams are under. An analysis from the charity Starlight shows that there are around 820 health play professionals supporting almost 17 million child hospital admissions in England – highlighting just how stretched many hospital play teams are.

At Spread a Smile, we see and recognise these pressures every day. We know how much children and families rely on play teams to help make hospital feel less frightening, more familiar and more manageable. When those teams are stretched, the need for our support is greater than ever.

This is why the work we do at Spread a Smile is so important. We work hard to build strong relationships with play teams and healthcare professionals across our 39 NHS hospital partners, understanding what they need and finding ways in which our support can help them in their day-to-day jobs.

Our role is not to replace health play professionals – their expertise is vital. Instead, we help create the moments of joy, distraction, connection and creativity that can help children get to a place where play teams and clinical staff can do their jobs most effectively. When a child is anxious, frightened or overwhelmed, sometimes the first step is simply helping them to relax, smile and engage.

Through visits from our entertainers, musicians, artists, magicians and therapy dogs, alongside creative activities and family support initiatives, we bring opportunities for children to play, connect and simply be themselves during some of the most difficult days of their lives.

We see first-hand how much this matters. A bedside visit from a magician can give a child something positive to focus on. Music can encourage a teenager to express themselves. An art activity can provide an outlet during a difficult period of treatment. A therapy dog can offer comfort and connection when a child is feeling isolated or even encourage them to get out of bed for much-needed physio.

These moments might seem small, but they can make a significant difference to how a child experiences hospital. They can also make an enormous difference to the whole family. Seeing their child smile, relax and become more accepting of treatment can help parents and siblings cope with what can be an incredibly difficult and frightening experience.

The Guardian report is an important reminder that play and emotional wellbeing cannot be treated as an optional extra in children’s healthcare. Health play teams do extraordinary work, often under significant pressure, and they need the resources and recognition to do that work properly.

At Spread a Smile, we believe emotional wellbeing should be an integral part of every child’s experience of healthcare. Children in hospital need more than excellent clinical care. They need to feel safe, understood and able to be themselves. They need opportunities for play, creativity, connection and joy – and their families need support too.

That is why our work matters, and why, as pressure on hospital play services continues, our support is more important than ever.

To mark Play in Healthcare Week, we are delivering a record number of visits – 29 visits across 18 hospitals, with additional activities designed to encourage play, creativity and connection. This includes a special event at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, bringing together our North West entertainers, as part of our growing presence in the region.

Sources

• NHS England & Starlight Play Well Toolkit (published June 2025). [england.nhs.uk]
• Guardian report on health play staffing shortages (17 September 2026), based on Starlight FOI analysis