Problems of Innovation in a Hospital Setting

This paper examines the consequences of the introduction of playleaders into two children's wards in Great Britain: one in Wales, the other in an English hospital. Playleaders' freedom to innovate in their work was found to be limited by the degree of cooperation that they were able to achieve with existing workers in the wards. Negotiations with nurses, teachers, and domestic staff are considered in detail, and an analysis of relative sources of power is presented. It is suggested that the predominant mode of response of staff to playleaders was distancing and isolation, which will pose problems for the greater deployment of playleaders in hospitals, and has consequences for the professional development of play in hospitals.