Laughter is the best medicine for young Fife patients and their families

Rebecca Simpson is the head of a Scottish charity which delivers a very unique programme to young patients in hospitals and hospices across the country.

Rebecca, who is originally from Glenrothes, is the CEO of Hearts and Minds, which is helping to ease anxiety and worries for children and young people in hospital, by creating smiles through a clowndoctors scheme.

The service focusses on both long and short stay patients and is delivered by practitioners who have specialist training in working with young people who have physical and/or learning disabilities, have life-limiting conditions and/or who behavioural challenges.

Rebecca believes wholeheartedly in the power of clowntherapy.

She said: “We use the art of therapeutic clowning to bring joy and laughter to children in hospital, hospice care, and special educational need schools and to adults living with dementia in residential care across Scotland.

“Playfulness, empathy and kindness are at the heart of everything we do.”

The organisation delivers two programmes – Clowndoctors and The Elderflowers, who visit people living with dementia in hospitals, hospices and residential care homes.

It uses professional artists who are specifically trained to use clowning in the environments they work in and with the people it visits.

Added Rebecca: “Through the art of therapeutic clowning we connect to people’s humanity and transform experiences of adversity to ones filled with lightness and joy.”

The clowndoctor programme visits around 17 locations across Scotland every week, and the charity works in close collaboration with healthcare and educational staff to develop partnerships that have a huge benefit for children and people living with dementia.

Rebecca explained where the idea for the programme came from and how the charity was founded.

“In 1997 a group of Edinburgh-based artists decided to bring The Big Apple Circus concept of hospital clowning to Scotland,” she said.

“Using specialist clowning skills and taking on the characters of hospital doctors, the group put on red noses and adopted funny names to make the children smile and laugh. From this small but heartfelt start, Hearts and Minds was born.

“It has been delivering across Scotland for 21 years and we know that what we do makes a positive impact.

“We often meet people when they are at their most vulnerable and in need of lightness, laughter and joy and this is what we provide.

“We use therapeutic clowning to make genuine connections with every child and adult that we interact with, giving them the confidence to smile and laugh again when they need it most.

“By relieving the fear or anxiety experienced by children, young people and adults, we make their parents’ and families’ experiences less stressful too.”

The charity has been fundraising to work with more Fife children and is also now hoping to work with NHS Fife in future.

Said Rebecca: “We have worked with children and families from Fife in hospices and also at Edinburgh and Glasgow Children’s hospitals.

“With the funding raised from the 2.6 challenge that we ran across Fife in April, we will be using this to work directly with children from the Kingdom.

“We are hoping to work with NHS Fife to provide clowndoctor visits to children and families who could do with a smile and relief.

“The feedback from children and their families is always positive, we often hear that for parents the best thing is that their child is laughing and being a child again for in that moment that have no worries.”

Like many other charities, Hearts and Minds has also had to adapt during the coronavirus lockdown and has found a way to deliver its programme virtually.

Rebecca explained: “We teamed up with CHAS to be part of its virtual hospice. This has enabled the clowndoctors to still visit children and families live online at the two hospices, Rachel House and Robin House, and still deliver laughter and lots of smiles at a difficult time for everyone.

“We have also been working with other key partners across Scotland to provide personalised pre-recorded videos which are tailored to suit children who are now completely isolated due to their medical conditions.

“During live visits our artists engage with children and adults through music, song, play, miming, games and role play.

“The clowndoctors and elderflowers are all professionally trained to take the lead from the person they are interacting with and create something that is unique for them.

“The feedback has been amazing – we have been overwhelmed with the positive response.”

Rebecca added: “Our clowndoctors and elderflowers are missing delivering in the units, but this enables them to still have that connection and for us as a charity to know we are doing our bit to support people during this uncertain time.”

For more information visit: www.heartsminds.org.uk