Creating special moments for Lloyds Clinical’s paediatric patients and families
For children and young people receiving ongoing treatment, clinical routines can become a familiar part of everyday life. Our recent family day at Five Sisters Zoo created an opportunity for paediatric patients and their families to enjoy something different together.
Families were invited to explore the zoo at their own pace, discover the animals and simply enjoy the day away from appointments and treatment.
Alongside the zoo experience, each child received a goodie bag containing a water bottle, cap and jigsaw, as well as two resources developed specifically to support our younger patients.
Helping children understand their treatment
Our Alex and Archie Activity Box was created for paediatric patients receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN), helping children learn more about their treatment in a way that feels accessible and engaging.
The box includes an educational storybook featuring Alex and his sidekick Archie, explaining HPN and how Lloyds Clinical supports children receiving treatment at home. Colouring cards, crayons and puzzle games provide opportunities for creativity and play alongside the educational content.
Children also received Archie, our multi-sensory distraction and comfort tool. With different textures, squeakers and tactile features, Archie is designed to keep little hands busy and minds engaged during clinical care. It can help reduce anxiety, support sensory regulation and encourage play-based coping. Archie can also give siblings a way to feel involved during visits and provide parents with another tool to help make clinical interactions calmer.
Both resources have been developed with the wider experience of children and their families in mind. They recognise that how a child understands and experiences treatment matters, particularly when complex care forms part of everyday life.
A day for families to enjoy together
There was plenty of fun at the zoo too, with opportunities to explore, take photographs and make memories together, including a cardboard face cut-out that proved popular with the children.
The day was deliberately relaxed. Families could enjoy the zoo in the way that worked best for them, with the focus firmly on spending time together.
One family member, said:
“Thank you so much for having us! We had such a lovely day and Arabella had a brilliant time. It was really nice being able to go around and enjoy everything together as a family at our own pace. There was loads for Arabella to see and do and she absolutely loved it. We really appreciate all the work that must have gone into organising the day and making it so enjoyable for everyone.”
Tony Greatrex, Head of HPN at Lloyds Clinical, said:
“When we think about supporting children receiving complex treatment, we need to consider their experience as well as their clinical needs. Resources such as Alex and Archie help us explain care in a more child-friendly way and give families practical tools they can use during treatment. Bringing families together for a day like this is another way of recognising the whole experience of living with an ongoing condition.”
We would like to thank the families who joined us, our Lloyds Clinical colleagues who helped make the day possible and Five Sisters Zoo for welcoming us.
For our paediatric teams, occasions like this sit alongside the clinical support we provide every day. They are part of a wider commitment to listening to families, understanding what matters to each child and finding thoughtful ways to make treatment feel more familiar, manageable and centred around them.