Launching a first-of-its-kind resource for children

London’s Air Ambulance Charity is proud to launch a new resource – ‘When someone I love is in hospital’.

This resource is a workbook, created and designed to be a tool for parents and caregivers to start a conversation with their child/children when someone they love is in hospital.

This could be as a result of traumatic injury – like the families of our patients – or due to illness. We have seen firsthand how hard it can be for loved ones to deal with when there are significant hospital stays, for children in particular. 

Often the default position is to ‘protect’ children from the reality of a loved one being injured or unwell. However, we know that children are incredibly smart and resilient and will almost certainly sense when something is amiss. We therefore used our unique insight and expertise, as well as input from some of our patients and their families, to develop this first-of-its-kind workbook: a tool to help initiate these difficult conversations in an age-appropriate manner.

There are two versions, designed for two different age groups: age 5-7 and age 8+. Although the workbook belongs to the child, it is to be used with the support of an adult.

There is nothing like this workbook currently in the UK healthcare system. We’re proud to produce and share such a resource and plan to encourage hospitals, trusts, medical professionals and schools across the country to use it. 

You can see both digital versions of the workbook here. If you know of someone who may benefit from receiving a hardcopy of the workbook, please reach out to our patient liaison team on [email protected].

Thanks to your support, our charity can be here for London, bringing hope to every family who may need it.

Please note:

• Any responsible adult may use the workbook with a child who has a special person in hospital.
• The workbook has not been designed to start a conversation about bereavement.