Children's Gala held at AKUH's children hospital

World eminent social activist Dr Patch Adams on Saturday visited the Aga Khan University Hospital's (AKUH) Children Hospital to acknowledge the shared philosophy of love and compassion in care giving.
The Children's Hospital held a Children's Gala where former patients and their families enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon of clowning with Dr Patch Adams and AKUH Children's Hospital doctors.
The Children's Hospital is leading the way in brining about a cultural shift in the healthcare profession by brining in laughter and humour into serving patients.
They have been training with Dr Patch Adams to use clowning to help lighten up the hospital environment, which can be intimidating for children, and using love and compassion to make patients more at ease.
According to Dr Salman Kirmani, Chairman of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Aga Khan University Hospital, this is exactly what children and their parents are looking for during such a stressful time.
The medical school curriculum is formal and pedantic, and hence as practitioners, doctors and nurses is often found to be intimidating, especially for children.
"We don't want children to feel like they are coming to a hospital. They should see this as a fun-house," says Dr Babar Hasan, Service Line Chief of the Pediatric Department.
"Children who were bed-ridden, start laughing and dancing when we wear funny hats and clown with them. That moment brightens up not just the child's day, but seeing their children happy and laughing has a tremendous impact on their parents," said Naureen Lalani, who is the Nurse Manager at the Children's Hospital.
The Children's Hospital keeps patient certainty at the heart of its care giving.
Nurses are at central to care giving, and the Children's Hospital recognizes this.
The Children's Hospital has a unique nursing mentorship system whereby nurses are empowered; their voices are central to determining treatment and care for patients, and they are assigned role models within the team to support them.
Keeping patient comfort central, the Children's Hospital has streamlined processes to make children undergoing treatment more comfortable by revising time periods for NPO status.
It is found that healing is accelerated through play and joy.
The Children's Hospital has introduced play therapy for inpatient children.