Mateu Orfila Hospital has installed boards in the rooms of the Paediatrics Unit to offer children a space where they can express their feelings, preferences and experiences during their stay. The initiative aims to improve communication with healthcare staff and make the hospital environment more welcoming and personalised.

The project, known as the “Emotion Board”, originated from the suggestion of a family and was developed by the Paediatrics Service together with the Humanisation Committee of the Menorca Health Area. Children can use the boards to write their name and age, share their favourite colours, foods or animals, mention friends they look forward to seeing when they leave the hospital, draw pictures or show their mood using emoticons.

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Mateu Orfila Hospital Introduces Emotion Boards to Help Hospitalised Children Express Themselves

Beyond personalising the room, the boards help professionals connect more naturally with young patients, encourage conversation and ease moments that might otherwise cause fear or anxiety during certain medical procedures.

According to Ana Sanchis, paediatric nurse and president of the Humanisation Committee, and Manuel Rego, nursing supervisor, the thirteen boards installed —one for each bed— are a meaningful step forward in humanising care and have already proven to be a valuable tool for strengthening relationships with children.

The boards complement the room decoration project carried out at the end of 2023, when artists from the island created murals to brighten the paediatric spaces.