Collaborating with the NHS to create Fix Freddie
Collaborating with the NHS to Develop Award winning 'Fix Freddie'
In 2013 PuppetSoup approached Dr Franscesca Cleugh of St Mary’s Hospital, London through previous project connections with Professor Roger Kneebone. PuppetSoup asked to collaborate with Dr Cleugh, St Mary’s Hospital and Connecting Care for Children to create a project that would benefit the community and the Accident and Emergency services of the NHS that were very overwhelmed at that time.
Over several months of collaboration with Dr Franscesca Cleugh, NHS services and Professor Cariad Astles of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, The ‘Fix Freddie!’ show was created and then toured to numerous locations and health events.
‘Fix Freddie!’ is a family friendly show that follows the adventures of a child called Freddie and his Robodog toy as they look at all the different care options available in the NHS.
The aim of the show is to convey a message of alternative pathways to only visiting Accident and Emergency and also to get local people to build relationships with their healthcare providers. The show is fun and informative and toured with Doctors, Nurses, Dentists, Pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. The show can be understood by parents and children from a variety of backgrounds, even if they don’t speak English.
The show toured to many schools nurseries, health events and community events developing positive relationships with the local communities in London including visiting a Traveller site which PuppetSoup went on to develop further projects with.
In 2014 ‘Fix Freddie!’ won the Liz Molyneaux Award for contribution to Paediatric medicine and research that Dr Franscesca Cleaugh presented derived from the show and project was published in the British Medical Journal and Journal of Emergency Medicine.
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