Children's teddy bears get hospital check-ups

Children have brought their teddies and soft toys to a clinic for an event to help them understand hospital treatment and research.

Royal Papworth Hospital held an open day as part of the Cambridge Festival to share its work more widely.

Visitors of all ages had the opportunity to learn about high-tech devices, take part in tests and learn CPR.

"It's been amazing to visit and put yourself in the shoes of these professions – it helps you think about what you really want to do," said GCSE student Kate Deeves.

Ms Deeves appreciated learning CPR because "you could be put in a situation when you need to have those abilities".

"We were looking at the theatre, which is really helpful to see what it's like in a stressful situation – how everyone has their own jobs and roles," she added.

The hospital, which specialises in heart and lung medicine, was founded as a tuberculosis colony in 1918 and carried out the UK's first successful heart transplant in 1979.

Visitors were able to take a one-minute test with the respiratory physiologists or a test to see how clean their hands were with the infection control team.

At the teddy bear clinic, staff gave toys a basic health check and diagnosed various symptoms before suggesting treatments.

Then the children were invited to place their teddies in a clinical trial, dividing them into two groups to test different approaches to fluffiness.

"We're a very research-active trust, running a broad range of trials. We want to introduce that concept to the children and parents in a fun way," explained research team leader Kitty Paques.

"I think the children have been enjoying it very much, some are very earnest and some really are quite worried about their teddy," she said.

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