Red Noses, the clown doctors, to make regular visits to children staying at the General Hospital Murska Sobota with the support of Lek, a Sandoz company

Over the past eleven years Red Noses have been visiting hospitals with paediatric wards across Slovenia. Clown doctors are professional performers who are specially trained to work in a vulnerable healthcare environment, like hospitals, facilities for people with special needs, healthcare settings and residential care facilities. The honest and frank characters of clown doctors offer humour and plays to vulnerable children and adults improving their hospital stay and mood, spark bright ideas, courage and trust. This way they contribute to the emotional well-being of patients and help them come to terms with their situation.

“Our hospital does not only aim at meeting hospital programs and being professional, but also adding humanity to our work, particularly when treating our youngest patients. Therefore, Red Noses have received a warm welcome among our patients and health care professionals by raising smiles and courage. With the support of the pharmaceutical company Lek, a Sandoz company, Red Noses will pay us regular visits, which we are thankful for. We would also like to express our gratitude to Red Noses for their noble work in offering our kids a range of emotional and physical benefits, making their long hospital days shorter, distract them from thinking about their illness and help them develop a positive attitude, said Bojan Korošec, MD, director of the General Hospital Murska Sobota.

Lek, a Sandoz company, has been supporting Red Noses for seven years

The noble mission of Red Noses has been supported by Lek, a Sandoz company, from their very beginning.

“To care for health and well-being is an integral part of our business. Our mission is closely intertwined with the mission of Red Noses, therefore we are glad to support them from their very beginning. With our help they continue with the newly started program called Caravan Orchestra, dedicated to children with moderate to severe developmental disabilities that we supported last year. Clown doctors seem to have a funny and a kind job; however, their work is very demanding and responsible. We are glad that with our support they will start bringing joy to the little patients staying at the General Hospital Murska Sobota,” said Simon Rečnik, Head of Packaging Center Lendava at Lek, a Sandoz company.

Red Noses annually visit more than 44,000 children and adults

“On behalf of Red Noses I would like to thank our long-term partner Lek, a Sandoz company, for enabling us to initiate these regular visits at the General Hospital Murska Sobota. Clown doctors will be visiting children staying at the Peadiatric, ENT, Ophthalmology and Surgical Ward of the General Hospital Murska Sobota every first Tuesday afternoon of the month, said Eva Š. Maurer, Red Noses Ambassador.

The Red Noses team includes 16 clown doctors paying regular visits to children and adults staying at 15 hospitals and specialized health care facilities with peadiatric wards across Slovenia.

• they weekly visit the Division of Paediatrics as well as other Divisions and Departments of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana treating children, Division of Paediatrics of the University Medical Centre Maribor, and General Hospital Celje;
• every other week they visit General Hospital Jesenice and General Hospital Novo Mesto;
• every month they tour at the General Hospital Šempeter pri Novi Gorici and the Department for Disabled Children Stara Gora, General Hospital Trbovlje, General Hospital Ptuj, General Hospital Izola, General Hospital Slovenj Gradec, University Rehabilitation Institute Soča, Department of Haematology of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana and now the General Hospital Murska Sobota.

In addition Red Noses, the clown doctors, perform in the Caravan Orchestra show for children with moderate to severe developmental disabilities, tour at residential care facilities, visit children, youth and adults with special needs, and perform at the Clown-on-Call Project (clowns doctors in close cooperation with health care professionals in order to distract children from unpleasant procedures and reduce stress).