Bedside stories bring comfort to Newcastle’s young patients

For children spending time in hospital, a visitor with a story offers somewhere else to go in their imagination.

Professional storytellers from Seven Stories are visiting Newcastle’s Great North Children’s Hospital and Freeman Hospital, reading with groups and at bedsides. Newcastle Hospitals Charity funds ten sessions each month.

In its latest programme update, the charity reports more than 430 contacts with young patients and families. Staff describe children feeling happier and more relaxed after sessions.

Independent research offers some support for the approach. A 2021 randomised study of 81 children in Brazilian intensive care units found greater immediate pain relief after storytelling than after riddles.

That study measured a single session, so it cannot establish lasting benefits or prove Newcastle’s results. The local feedback remains observational.

Even so, the connection can continue beyond the ward. Seven Stories says children can take a favourite book home, while families report reading together more. A comforting part of hospital life can become something to share afterwards.

Sources

• Newcastle Hospitals Charity — programme update
• Brockington and colleagues — PNAS storytelling study (2021)