Hospital can be a sad, lonely and confusing place for the child patient. In a bid to make the hospital experience less traumatic for children, the Humour Foundation of Ireland (HFI) has introduced Clown Doctors to dispense daily doses of fun and laughter at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.

HFI was established in 2004 to promote the health benefits of humour. Its Clown Doctors programme was launched in Our Lady's Hospital in September 2005 and plans are afoot to roll the service out to hospitals throughout the country.

Clown doctors visit all departments of the hospital parodying the hospital routine and help to make the hospital experience less traumatic for the child. According to Sandra Austin of HFI, the clowns are "trained skilled professional performers who possess personal qualities such as caring and sensitivity to the hospital environment."


"Relaxing and helping the children benefits everyone else in the hospital," says Ms. Austin.

HFI is mentored by the Human Foundation of Australia, which was founded in 1997 by Dr Peter Spitzer and Jean-Paul Bell.

To read more about the healing power of laughter, visit www.clowndoctors.ie