The Long Term Ventilation (LTV) team at Southampton Children’s Hospital plays a vital role in supporting children who require assisted breathing during their hospital stay, and as they transition home. Wanting to make each child’s experience as positive and reassuring as possible, the team sought a range of small reward items to give to children at the end of their stay. These items were intended not only as a comforting gesture, but also as a way to celebrate each child’s progress and resilience.
To achieve this, the LTV team partnered with hotline™ Promotional Products to source a selection of child-friendly gifts, including two types of stickers, Tangle Toys, stress balls, and teddy bears. This case study explores the team’s experience in selecting and ordering these items, the quality and suitability of the products received, and the impact they have had on the children and families in their care.
Supporting Children Through Treatment
The LTV team explained that the decision to introduce reward items was driven by the need to support children through what can often be an anxious and challenging treatment process. Following a recent restructure of the service, the team now works across two distinct pathways: complex care for children requiring extended hospital stays, and nurse-led outpatient clinics. Many children attending the nurse-led clinics experience neurodiversity, behavioural challenges, or heightened anxiety, while complex patients may remain in hospital for prolonged periods. In addition, the team also carries out overnight titration sleep studies, where children stay in hospital for assessment.
Across all of these settings, the use of small reward items plays an important role. The team found that offering a reward helps to ease the initial treatment set-up, motivates children to engage with ventilation therapy, and provides reassurance at the end of procedures such as sleep studies. These positive reinforcements help reduce anxiety for both children and families, while also making it easier for nurses to deliver care effectively.
Choosing the Right Products
The selection of products was carefully considered to ensure each item had a clear purpose within the service. Stickers were chosen to support children during the initiation of ventilation and when wearing a mask, providing an immediate and visible sense of achievement. Tangle Toys and stress balls were selected for use in nurse-led clinics, where they help children manage anxiety and provide a calming distraction during appointments. Teddy bears were intended for children facing longer hospital stays, as well as those taking part in overnight titration sleep studies, offering comfort and familiarity in an unfamiliar environment.
Personalisation was an important factor in the decision-making process. The team wanted items that could be branded with Southampton Children’s Hospital’s logo, alongside recognition for their sponsor, Southampton Hospitals Charity. In particular, the teddy bears support the Teddy Bears for Children’s Sleep Studies Project, a charitable initiative kindly sponsored by Southampton Hospitals Charity, which aims to provide comfort and reassurance to children undergoing overnight sleep studies.
With a caseload of nearly 300 children who are reviewed regularly, the team required large quantities of products and a varied range to suit the different needs of their patients and service pathways.
A Positive Ordering Experience
hotline™ Promotional Products was recommended to the team by a colleague, and the ordering process was described as efficient, straightforward, and user-friendly. From initial selection through to proofing and delivery, the team felt fully supported. hotline™ not only met the requirements around design, branding, and timescales, but exceeded expectations, making the experience easy and stress-free for a busy healthcare team.
Quality and Child-Friendly Design
When the products arrived, the team were impressed with the quality, noting the clarity of the logos and printed text. The items were described as well made, safe, and highly suitable for children, helping to reduce fear and anxiety associated with hospital treatment. Among the range, stickers and teddy bears stood out as particularly popular, quickly becoming favourites with the children.
Making a Real Impact
Feedback from both children and families has been overwhelmingly positive. The reward items provide distraction, emotional reassurance, and help make the hospital experience feel less frightening and less clinical. By engaging children more positively in their treatment, the items create a sense of normalcy, helping the environment feel more like home and less like a hospital.
The team also highlighted how effective the rewards have been in building trust, even with older or more reluctant patients. In some cases, the approach has proved successful with teenagers who were initially resistant to treatment. The reward system reinforces a sense of success for the child and strengthens the relationship between patients and nurses.
Team Reflections
Overall, the LTV team expressed gratitude for having access to colourful, engaging reward items that help lift children’s morale. They described feeling enthusiastic and optimistic about the positive difference these products have made, particularly the smiles they see on children’s faces. With everything meeting or exceeding expectations, the team would not change anything about future orders and would confidently recommend both the products and hotline™ Promotional Products to other healthcare teams, praising the easy process and excellent customer service.