Playrooms on every hospitalization floor to bring fun activities to children

SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital has created six playrooms, one on each children's inpatient ward at the hospital, to offer hospitalised boys and girls a fun space that is nearby and adapted to their needs.

As it has done routinely for years, in its design the Hospital has worked with families and patients, the Hospital's Youth Council, volunteers, the Child Life team and other on-site professionals, holding various sessions with them to find out their needs and proposals. These meetings have highlighted that until now, most of the play spaces in the centre were designed for children aged 5–11, and there was a lack of suitable play spaces for the very youngest, such as babies.

The centre has therefore decided to create a playroom on each ward that is specially designed for a specific age range. So a playroom has been created for babies and younger children on the sixth floor, with spaces where they can crawl; on the seventh floor there is a room for children over six years old, with a slide; on the eighth, a space designed to carry out activities and put on shows; and on the tenth, a room for young people and adolescents. There will also be a new reading room on the fifth floor. Each of these spaces has been named after one of the highest peaks in the world and decorated and kitted out with elements and toys representing the animals that live in those natural environments.

All of the playrooms have been designed for children, young people and their families to enjoy at any time of day and have play elements built in to their design. At certain set hours, the space is staffed by professionals from the Child Life team and the Hospital's volunteers, who provide games and workshops.

New communications hub

The creation of these playrooms has been possible thanks to the construction of a communications hub that facilitates access and improves mobility between the centre's different buildings thanks to two new lifts. Right next to each playroom, there is a room where care professionals can meet with families when they need to discuss a matter that requires privacy.

The new playrooms will be sponsored by the companies that are collaborating with SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital as part of the 50th anniversary of its installation in Esplugues de Llobregat. One of the rooms has already been sponsored by Fundació Nou Mil·leni.