Buddy Day for hospital staff

More than 30 senior managers and staff at Tauranga Hospital will be spending the day with their ‘buddies' on Friday.

Buddy Day is a nationwide event that sees people carry cardboard cut-outs of children (‘buddies') around with them throughout their working days as a way of highlighting the message of keeping children safe.

BOPDHB Chief Operating Officer Pete Chandler (seated left) takes over care of his buddy ‘Mikey' (at right) from Brodie Hunter (seated right). Back row from left: Social Work Acting Team Leader Richard Brown, Children's Ward Nurse Leader Lynnece Dowle and Paediatrics Play Specialist Debbie McDougall.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board staff and management - including CEO Phil Cammish, Chief Operating Officer Pete Chandler and Director of Nursing Julie Robinson - have taken the message on enthusiastically.

'One of the key themes of Buddy Day is that it's up to all of us to look out for our children, to be ever mindful of child welfare and that it takes a community to raise a child,” says Pete.

'The hospital is a focal point of our community and we take that message very seriously.

'It's also about starting conversations around child welfare and this is a great way of doing it. Carrying a buddy with you naturally does that, and people are interested in what you're doing.”

Pete took possession of his buddy ‘Mikey' from its creator Brodie Hunter, a 13-year-old Tauranga Hospital Children's Ward patient.

As part of the creative process, children are asked to make up a back-story for their buddy which they then record in a diary to accompany the buddy.

Brodie says ‘Mikey' is originally from Italy, that he came to live in New Zealand after visiting his grandmother here, and that his favourite game is Trivial Pursuit.

Paediatrics Play Specialist Debbie McDougall says the act of creating the buddies had been very beneficial.

'Creating a backstory for their ‘Buddy' has been really rewarding,” she says. 'It's a very creative process and the children have been really enthusiastic about it.

'It's also opened the way for conversations that can sometimes be difficult. For example, children talking about their feelings about being in hospital - they can do it in the third person through their buddy. It's a safe way of doing that.”

Tauranga Hospital Social Work Acting Team Leader Richard Brown is the DHB's Buddy Day organiser.

'From a hospital perspective we're also using Buddy Day as a way to stress the importance of getting children to their health appointments,” he says.

'We can help parents and guardians if they're having problems attending and we can work together to get the kids here, which is the important thing at the end of the day.”

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1 comment

This is a great project

Posted on 13-11-2014 17:08 | By carpedeum

Am looking forward to gathering up my Buddy tomorrow and having him with me on my day's journey.


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