‘My job is to play, I love it, and it’s the children who have kept me doing it for so long’ – Davina, 35 years at our Trust
As part of our celebrations for the NHS turning 75 this week (Wednesday 5 July), we’re sharing the stories of some of our longest serving team members.
Davina Yeomans (above), 64, knew she would work with children, or as a nurse, as she enjoyed practical hands-on jobs. She ended up combining the two and becoming a playworker in the NHS.
After training to be a nursery nurse at Barnet College, Davina worked in the creche at Hylands Hospital. She then joined us at Harold Wood Hospital, having relocated to the area when she married.
She said: “My job is to encourage children to play, and I love what I do. I like helping to change the lives of children by making a hospital stay nicer and easing anxiety.
“It’s also a good support for parents who sometimes don’t like to leave their child when they’re in hospital, even to get a drink.”
Throughout her long career at our Trust, Davina has worked across a variety of hospitals including Harold Wood, Oldchurch, and now Queen’s Hospital. One of the areas she most enjoyed was working in children’s outpatients, even though there was just a blanket on the floor with a few toys and colouring books at the start, before they were able to get a proper play area with more toys, a play kitchen, building sets and games.
Davina, of Harold Hill, added: “If you get play in hospital right when they’re coming in as an outpatient, they won’t be as frightened if they have to stay on the ward.
“I loved seeing the same children, those with long-term conditions like sickle cell. I’d really feel I was making a difference when I’d give them something to do, and they’d say how much they enjoyed it. For some clinics we could have up to 100 children in with siblings along too so we’d get them all playing games, they loved it. I also sat with children at clinics for those with autism and ADHD, which was more challenging to keep them interested. The job has never stayed the same.”
She has fond memories from her early days when children with broken limbs would have to stay in bed as their limbs were elevated on traction, so they would wheel them into the garden to enjoy some fresh air, which was important if the child was in hospital for several weeks.
More recently, the Covid-19 pandemic was a difficult time for Davina as she was redeployed to help in other areas, including changing beds, feeding patients and providing company at a time when strict visiting rules were in place.
As the pandemic progressed, she saw more young patients with mental health needs admitted to the children’s ward – sometimes finding it more challenging to build a rapport with them and find activities for them to do.
What has continued to make Davina, who has two sons and five grandchildren, aged from one to eight, proud, is how the families she has helped remember her.
She said: “I often get stopped in the street, sometimes by children, and often parents too. I’ve also had children I played with come back with their own children and remember me, and parents coming back with their grandchildren.
“It’s so important to encourage children to play and to give them your time.”