Health Play Specialist

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Sutton-in-Ashfield; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Health Play Specialist to support children and young people through therapeutic play, creative activities and age-appropriate interventions.

You will work closely with families and the multidisciplinary team to help children understand procedures, reduce anxiety, and feel safe and involved in their care.

This role offers a rewarding way to make a difference in daily hospital experiences for young patients.

Qualifications

• Role involves using therapeutic play and age-appropriate interventions to support children.
• Aims to reduce anxiety, promote wellbeing, and help children cope with illness and hospital procedures.
• Collaborate with families and the multidisciplinary team to tailor care to each child.

Responsibilities

• Use therapeutic play and creative activities to help children understand medical procedures.
• Support families and work with the multidisciplinary team to plan individualized care.
• Help children feel safe, confident and involved in their healthcare journey.

Skills

Communication skills

Creativity

Compassion

Job description

Make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people through the power of play.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals are seeking a caring, enthusiastic, and creative Health Play Specialist to join our dedicated team and help make healthcare experiences more positive, reassuring, and child-centred.

As a Health Play Specialist, you will use therapeutic play, creative activities, and age-appropriate interventions to help children and young people understand and cope with illness, medical procedures, treatment, and hospital stays. You will play a vital role in reducing anxiety, promoting emotional wellbeing, supporting development, and helping children feel safe, confident, and involved in their healthcare journey.

Working closely with children, families, and the wider multidisciplinary team, you will provide individualised support that recognises each child's unique needs, abilities, and circumstances. You will use your communication skills, compassion, and creativity to build trusting relationships, prepare children for unfamiliar experiences, and help them manage the challenges associated with healthcare.

This role offers a rewarding opportunity to make a genuine difference every day, ensuring children and young people receive compassionate, high-quality care that places their wellbeing and individual needs at the heart of everything you do.

To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

We are an award-winning NHS Foundation Trust working alongside health and social care colleagues across the county to provide acute and community healthcare services to more than 420,000 people across Mansfield, Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood, and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

Sherwood is nationally recognised as being an excellent place to work and deliver care. We are rightly proud of the 5,500 colleagues who work here.

We are proud that our Trust colleagues have voted us the best acute Trust to work for in the East Midlands for seven years running in the National NHS Staff Survey, while the Care Quality Commission has rated our Trust as ‘outstanding’ for care and our King’s Mill Hospital as the only ‘outstanding’ NHS-run hospital in the East Midlands.

We know happy colleagues deliver better care. All our teams work in a supportive environment, which nurtures your wellbeing and provides opportunities for development and progression. We do not just care for our patients, we also care for you.

We have an open, inclusive and diverse culture and we would like you to be part of the team.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Sarah Jenkins Job title: Matron for Children and Young People Email address: [e-mail] Telephone number: 01623 622515

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