Let me Entertain You

'The effect in sickness of beautiful objects, of variety of objects, and especially of brilliancy of colour is hardly at all appreciated.’
Florence Nightingale 1860

A hospital stay can be boring unless staff and volunteers come up with ideas to make the experience more bearable. Many have .......!

• A supply of long straws by the bed help patients drink when they struggle to sit up
• Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center's beautiful grounds cheer patients during treatment
• Simple ideas can make a huge difference in care homes and nursing homes
• Large Piece Adult Jigsaws can help those with limited hand movements or partial sight
• Alder Hey Children's hospital showcase animation project in 'Oscar' winning style
• The Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre, Leeds - Complementary Therapies
• Alzheimer's Society encourages communication skills by 'Singing for the Brain'
• Alzheimer's Society explain how to understand and respect someone with dementia
• Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust lifts the spirits of patients and relatives through art
• Associated Content suggests a variety of gift ideas for older people
• Bancroft Gardens Residential Home enjoy classic films accompanied by ginger beer and popcorn
• 'StorkNet' gives a bedrest survival guide for pregnant mums
• Bingo and other board games help residents with short term memory loss to play their part
• Board Games can restore confidence of people with short term memory problems
• British Lung Foundation offer Breathe Easy Support groups
• CancerHelp UK explains benefits of art therapy for cancer sufferers
• Car drives to a local beauty spot give pleasure to many residents in Care homes
• Carehome.co.uk provides a list of entertainers for care homes in the West Midlands
• Carestar entertainment specialises in music for older people
• Chips from the chip shop can be great finger food and lift the spirits of long stay patients
• Clearly written notes, clearly displayed can help carers care for patients in the community
• Cocktails in the garden lift the spirits of residents at a Care Home in Derbyshire
• Constellation - a group of six young voices sing acapella in hospitals and care homes
• Heartlands hospital 'Art on the Move'. Creative ideas to pass the time
• Curtains simply re-aligned can improve the view for a patient
• Dementia - sensible advice from a relative
• Digital photo frames enable patients with limited movement to enjoy many photographs
• Dignity Action Day 2012 - bigger than ever
• Dorset County hospital, Dorchester run a 'Diners Club' for stroke patients
• E-mails keep family and friends up to date and enable patients to keep in touch
• ENSA provides entertainment for care homes and day centres
• Entertainment possibilities in the local community for older people in care or at home
• Epsom, St Helier and Sutton hospitals thank volunteers with a tea party at the races
• Famous 'Musicals' and 'Comedy Classics' Lift Patients' Spirits
• First Act Workshop drama students read poems and stories to patients at Walsall Manor Hospital
• GCPA activity network provide a fantastic range of entertainment ideas for all ages and abilities
• Heartlands Hospital patients have 'Dior' make-over
• Heartlands Hospital invites school choir's to sing to patients and relatives
• Heartlands hospital offer therapy through music to the children in their care
• Helping to run their care home dignifies many residents
• Home-cooked food can help whet the appetite of a patient in hospital
• Hospital Broadcasting Association supports hospital radio stations and provides a list in your area
• If a patient can't sleep...there may be a reason!
• Interact Reading Service provides entertainment and therapy for stroke victims
• Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust use Memory Suitcases to help patients with dementia
• Knitting and other simple skills help patients with dementia feel valued
• Labelled family photos around the bed can help staff relate to patients with communication problems
• AHVRP gives award to 'Life Histories' project at Banner Baywood Medical Centre and Heart Hospital.
• Live film from local beauty spots helps calm patients in isolation wards at Dorset County Hospital
• Sensitively applied make-up can lift the spirits of patients and their carers
• Mirrors can add light to a room, and so much more
• Mirrors can help increase the range of vision of patients with disabilities
• Mumsnet offers summer holiday survival tips
• Heartlands hospital offer live music for the benefit of patients and staff and visitors
• Music Therapy brings rhythm and fun to Walsall Manor Hosptial
• AHVRP award 'Musical Bridges'-old and young come together with mutual benefits
• Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham offer 'live' music in cancer centre waiting room
• Heart of England NHS - Musical Interludes
• Neonatal unit in Scotland provides thoughtful items for their babies
• New Cross hospital in Wolverhampton pioneers care for people with dementia
• Newspaper headlines and photos can be a simple way of keeping brain-damaged patients in touch
• NHS Tayside 's Ninewells Hospital in Dundee offers a library service to patients
• Nurses offers advice relevant to all patients but especially the terminally ill
• New Newton Abbot hospital guarantees patients a room with a view
• Patients can help each other in so many ways
• Patients own books, magazines and toys reduce cross-infection and relieve boredom in waiting rooms
• Perfume makes a real difference
• Pets as Therapy
• Pets as Therapy provide dogs that delight patients at Walsall Manor Hospital
• Pets bring huge pleasure to patients.. in more ways than one
• Seattlepi.com demonstrates how pets in hospital can lift patients spirits
• Bancroft Gardens Residents enjoy photo session with full make up and hair-dos
• Pictures to Share create specialised books with large pictures for people with dementia
• Pre-prepared late night snacks can be a welcome treat for some
• Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil offers gentle entertainment to patients with cancer
• Pub Lunches at The Helen Ley Home for Multiple Sclerosis Respite Care
• Radio Lollipop provides care and comfort to children in hospital,
• Reading Therapies offer story telling and other services to patients
• Ready Set Read! - this American scheme helps children learn to read in waiting rooms
• Bancroft Gardens Care home opens their doors to sunshine and the community
• Regularly checking if a patient is happy with everything is so important
• Royal Brompton Hospital's 'Modern Matron' thinks 'outside the box' to help long term patients
• Royal Leamington Spa Rehabilitation Hospital invite entertainers to amuse and delight the patients
• Royal Leamington Spa Rehabilitation Hospital 's art classes have multiple benefits
• Royal Leamington Spa Rehabilitation Hospital 's new bird tables entertain patients and help wildlife
• Royal Leamington Spa Rehabilitation Hospital offer hand massages to stroke victims
• RS suggests ways of keeping the belongings of a patient more accessible
• Sandwell Primary Care Trust bring children and older people together in the 'playtrain' project
• Scrapbook filled with useful information can help aid recovery
• Shakespeare Hospice Volunteer drivers make a real difference
• Cystic Fibrosis sufferer offers personal advice on making the best of a hospital stay
• Solihull hospital uses computer games to help patients' recovery
• Southampton General hospital recruit child 'secret agents' to help improve standards
• Southampton hospitals' 900 volunteers offer 30,000 hours help in a year
• Southampton University's medical students' 'Teddy Bear Hospital' helps dispel children's fears
• Starlight aims to bring smiles and laughter into the lives of seriously and terminally ill children
• Stroke Association organises a chorus for stroke patients
• Room with a view
• Tea and coffee machines make communal areas of large residential homes more user-friendly
• The Kindness Offensive works with volunteers, companies and charities to make people happy
• Tracy Parkinson believes that laughter is a patient's best medicine .. and don't forget their pets
• Changing the way curtains are pulled back can hugely increase a patient's view
• Coffee and tea machines make communal areas in large residential homes more user-friendly
• Visitors are the best entertainment of all!
• Visitors with bright interesting clothing can bring a smile to a patient on dull days
• Walsall College health and beauty students pamper patients at Walsall Manor Hospital
• Walsall Hospital Radio provide hours of entertainment for patients and their visitors
• Walsall Manor Hospital's Bingo gets patients talking
• Walsall Manor Hospital invites a teenage choir to sing to patients
• Walsall Manor Hospital Main Entrance includes a restaurant, cafe, shop and cash machine
• Wellchild offers specialised help for sick children and their families
• Wheelchair adapted taxis provide a welcome chance to escape for a few hours!
• Whizz-kidz provides mobility equipment for disabled children and young adults