999 Club aims to reduce children's fears of the emergency department

A recently-launched initiative gives children a flavour of what goes on in emergency departments – so if they should ever have to visit as patients, they will know what to expect

Inviting small children to ‘guess the bones’ and to learn what goes on in the back of ambulances sounds guaranteed to appeal to the sometimes-lurid curiosity of young minds.

In fact, interactive experiences like these are proving a huge hit with five to nine year olds who visit Southampton Children’s Hospital as part of a local initiative to reduce children’s fears of emergency treatment and get them thinking about accident prevention.

The 999 Club began as a pilot project last year but proved such a success with schools in the area that it was recently given the green light and officially launched.

Knowing what to