Play equipment donation guidelines

Thank you for thinking about donating toys, books or games to the hospital.

In the interest of safety for our patients we request the following:

• All donated play equipment must be new, relatively small and packaged
• It must be clean, safe, suitable and complete
• Please arrange a time and date for delivery of your donation before bringing them to Trust

To help you choose what to buy, please remember that:

• We are unable to accept second hand toys or books in any condition due to the need for high standards of infection control in the hospital. New soft toys can be accepted to be given as presents, but not for general use on the wards.
• Babies and teenagers are often the ages that tend to get most overlooked, so we would appreciate gifts for these age ranges; these could include rattles for young babies and toiletries or gift vouchers for older children and young people.
• Some of the wards are now fitted with over the bed entertainment systems, so we can no longer accept donations of video cassettes.
• We can’t accept gifts of make up in case patients have allergic reactions or skin conditions which means they can’t be used. However, nail varnishes are great gifts for patients to take home or for use on the wards.
• For health and safety reasons, gifts donated cannot be wrapped. This is because all presents need to be checked before they are given out to patients, and it is a shame when our Play Specialists have to unwrap beautifully wrapped gifts! However, if you wish to donate wrapping paper along with the gifts so that staff are able to wrap the gifts once they have been checked, this would be appreciated.

If you would like to make a financial donation please contact The Children’s Hospital Charity on 0114 271 7203.