Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1529635
10 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 22 NOVEMBER 2024 CULTURE THE Teddy Bear Hospital initiative start- ed at Queen Mary University of London as a way of helping children understand hospital services and reduce their anxie- ties about medical or dental treatments. The initiative has been taken up by students from the Queen Mary Malta Campus medical school, who held the first clinics at St Francis Primary School in Victoria, Gozo on Wednesday. These workshops provide children with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with medical and dental equipment in an interactive setting, helping them to learn about healthcare in a friendly way. In preparation for the clinics, children were asked to bring a sick teddy from home for a check-up. The children and their teddy bears explored five interactive stations which were specifically designed to be engaging and interactive for chil- dren from four to six years of age. The stations were designed to reflect re- al-life hospital services including how to prepare themselves when visiting the doc- tor or dentist. At a new emergency station children learned about when to call an ambulance, what happens when they do, and the equipment they might see in an ambu- lance and emergency room. The event also featured key learnings on healthy eating habits, proper handwash- ing and the handling of a surgical bear. Ella Haslett, lead organiser of the Mal- ta Teddy Bear Hospital initiative and Medical Student at Queen Mary, Malta Campus said: "As students at the Malta Campus, I along with my fellow student volunteers, were delighted that St Fran- cis School Primary School in Victoria accepted our invitation and welcomed us to their school for the official launch of the Teddy Bear Hospital clinics in the primary school setting. The pupils were very enthusiastic and engaged with the interactive stations as they used medical tools to help their teddy bears feel better. We are very much looking forward to in- troducing these clinics to other schools across Gozo." Educators at St Francis Primary School Victoria Gozo, said the Teddy Bear Hos- pital clinics were a great opportunity for pupils to familiarise themselves with re- al-life hospital scenarios in a fun, engag- ing and interactive way. "As a school, we take every opportuni- ty that support learning beyond the core curriculum and equips the students with life-learning skills". Queen Mary, Malta Campus has made it a priority to support community engage- ment. More primary schools in Gozo will be visited soon to introduce these educa- tional sessions to children in their early years. Clinics help children overcome anxieties about visiting the doctor 50 primary school students participated in Teddy Bear Hospital clinics at St Francis Primary School in Victoria Gozo • 18 student volunteers from Queen Mary, Malta Campus ran the clinics