Health and safety zealots ban toys in surgeries
WAITING-room toys have been banned from doctors’ surgeries because health and safety zealots claim they could spread infection among children.
The move by a primary care trust was described by doctors and parents as “bureaucracy gone mad”. One father who took his toddler son to see a doctor was shocked to find that toys had been withdrawn.
Martin Rathfelder, who went to Seymour Grove Health Centre in Old Trafford, Manchester, with his son Oscar, three, said: “There were no toys in the waiting room.
“It seems to have been decided without consulting the people it affects. Oscar and
I have been to St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester recently and they make a good selection of toys available. They even have play co-ordinators, so we cannot understand why Trafford are taking such an approach.”
Grandfather Derek Neill, 65, said: “I was taking my grandson to the doctors for an ear infection problem and was confused to find nothing for him to play with.
“There always used to be toys at all the surgeries round here. It was common practice when I took my own children years ago. It didn’t seem a problem then, so why now?”
Dr Kailash Chand, a Manchester GP and regional representative of the British Medical Association, said toys do not pose a health risk if kept clean. “It is bureaucracy gone mad,” he said. “Waiting rooms without toys must be a nightmare. If having toys means children don’t mind coming to see the doctor, they are definitely a good thing.”
It is bureaucracy gone mad. Waiting rooms without toys must be a nightmare.
Trafford PCT manager Sheena Cumiskey said the move was prompted by new guidelines from the Department of Health.
But the trust is now considering introducing wipe-clean toys. Nearby Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s PCT, Oldham and Salford PCT and Pennine Acute Trust all simply ban soft toys and ensure the toys they do provide are cleaned regularly.
