Sam goes to hospital

'Sam goes to hospital' is a children's book produced by the Countess of Chester Hospital to communicate with young patients.  

The book was produced internally by a team comprising of the Medical Photography & Illustration department and the Marketing & Communications department.

Marketing & Communications Officer, Andrew Duggan said: "We always try to engage effectively with the general public however it is more difficult to communicate well with children. We developed the book to simply engage with young patients and to offer them something that will make their stay in the hospital less daunting."

The book's unique factor lies within two of characters. The story features two real members of Countess staff in Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Ravi Jayaram and Staff Nurse, Karen Echlin. So it is highly likely that children reading the book on the Children's Unit will see two of the characters come to life in front of them.

Ravi commented on the book by saying: "I think the book is a great and light-hearted way to explain to children what being in hospital will be like. However I hope that they won't be too disappointed when they see that the real Dr Ravi looks at least 10 years older than the cartoon one and doesn't have shiny spiky hair."

Copies of the book are available on the Children's Unit and in Children's Outpatients and are free to all young visitors. Schools and members of the public are also invited to request copies by calling 01244 366 381 or emailing andrew.duggan@nhs.net

Click here to read 'Sam goes to hospital'

You can also view the video version of the book by clicking here