Teachers visit West Suffolk Hospital to learn about patient journey

3 July 2003

Teachers from primary and upper schools in Suffolk visited West Suffolk Hospital today (3 July) to learn more about the NHS.

The primary-school teachers were shown at first-hand about what a child can expect if they have to go into hospital. Staff guided them through the journey of a young child coming into hospital through A&E. They were taken to various departments, such as physiotherapy and X-ray, and shown some of the different procedures involved.

“The aim was to help teachers understand the patient experience through the eyes of a small child,” said Jan Bloomfield, director of personnel and communications at the Trust.  “They can then go back to the classroom and explain what happens in a hospital and what the child can expect if they themselves become a patient. This is valuable as it helps to familiarise children with the idea of hospitals, and reduces any anxieties they might have if they ever need treatment.”

“Teachers need to be able to debunk the scarey bits of a hospital visit if a child in their class has to go into hospital themselves or to visit a relative,” added Linda Cartwright, professional development placement manager for Suffolk Education Business Partnership.

Teachers from upper-schools were taught about the various career opportunities available at the West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust and given a greater understanding of how the Trust operates.  This is to help them develop the Health and Social Care curriculum and citizenship programmes in schools. Science, health and social care, and careers teachers from schools throughout west Suffolk were invited to take part.

“For upper-school teachers, the idea behind the visit is to get them out of the classroom to see the relevance of the curriculum they teach in the working world,” said Linda Cartwright.  “It will help teachers to keep themselves up-to-date with the rapidly changing practices in healthcare. Also, it will make them more aware of the different types of healthcare careers available, such as radiographers and psychologists, rather than focussing just on doctors and nurses.”

“The NHS needs more trained professionals to accomplish the ambitious targets set down in the NHS Plan,” said Jan Bloomfield. “We need to attract young people to careers in healthcare, and we hope this initiative will help towards that end.”