Saturday October 10th 2026
Amanda Williamson HPS runner-up 2026
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
An NHS Fife health play specialist who has spent years helping children with complex needs cope with medical treatment has been recognised with a national award.
Amanda Williamson, a Health Play Specialist based primarily at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, (NHS FIFE) has been named Health Play Specialist runner-up in the Starlight Health Play Awards 2026, which recognise health professionals transforming children’s experiences of healthcare through play.
Starlight, the UK’s leading charity for children’s play in healthcare, holds the awards to celebrate Play in Healthcare Week (5–9 October 2026) and to shine a spotlight on how play can reduce fear, pain and trauma during a child’s treatment and recovery from illness and celebrate those who are excelling in this field.
The award comes as new Starlight research highlights a significant shortage of health play professionals in Scotland.
Freedom of Information requests have found just 60 full-time equivalent health play professionals in the country supporting more than 3.2 million child hospital admissions and attendances each year – around one professional for every 149 daily admissions and attendances, compared with a recommended staffing level of 1:10 – the lowest staffing level in the UK.
Amanda, who has worked for the NHS for 20 years and qualified as a health play specialist in 2011, supports children undergoing procedures including blood tests, infusions, scans and surgery, as well as children who need additional preparation because they are neurodivergent.
She was nominated for the award by a parent whose children have complex needs and whom Amanda has supported over many years.
The parent said she had worked alongside the family to understand each child as individuals to find strategies that would enable them to receive the medical treatment they needed.
Her support has included lowering lighting, using sensory mood lighting, reducing noise and helping healthcare staff understand how best to approach and communicate with the children.
The parent said Amanda’s support enabled her children to undergo procedures that otherwise may not have been possible.
Amanda said receiving the award had come as a complete surprise: “There are play teams up and down the UK doing such amazing work, and we’re just a tiny little team in a general district hospital, so you just don’t expect it. But I’m delighted, absolutely delighted.”
For Amanda, the value of health play lies in understanding what an individual child needs and building the trust that can enable them to cope with healthcare that may initially feel overwhelming.
She recalled supporting an autistic boy with a complex health condition who was extremely frightened of having a blood test. After discovering his love of football, Amanda, who had previously been a football coach, spent months building a relationship with him through fortnightly sessions and enlisted the help of his football coach to introduce conversations about health checks and blood tests.
When the time came, Amanda and the boy’s football coach kept him engaged by talking about football while a senior nurse practitioner successfully took his blood.
She said: “It was touch and go but he got through it, we all cheered and his mum cried with happiness and threw her arms around me. The consultant told me afterwards he’d never expected it to happen.”
Amanda believes health play can also help reduce the longer-term impact of frightening or distressing healthcare experiences by helping children understand what is happening, giving them greater choice and control and making the hospital environment feel less intimidating.
NHS Fife’s play team is also developing new resources to help children prepare before they arrive at hospital, including a webpage with a 360-degree tour of the unit. The team has already produced a video for children going to theatre, while Amanda is working towards videos and information for other procedures, including cannulas and infusions.
She said she hopes her award helps raise the profile of health play within the NHS: “If we can make the treatment less stressful in the moment, we’re minimising the trauma a child carries forward. And we’re reducing the likelihood that if they ever needed to come back, they are less likely to refuse because they had a good experience last time.”
NHS Fife Director of Nursing, Gillian McAuley, said: “We are incredibly proud of Amanda and delighted to see her recognised by the Starlight Children’s Foundation. Play specialists make a vital contribution to the care we provide, helping children and young people feel safer, more confident and better able to cope with what can often be a frightening experience.
“Amanda consistently demonstrates compassion, creativity and dedication in her work, and her ability to support children and families through play has a meaningful impact on their healthcare journey. Being recognised in this way is a fantastic achievement and reflects the difference Amanda makes every day for patients and colleagues across NHS Fife.”
Cathy Gilman, Chief Executive of Starlight, said: “Amanda’s work shows why health play is so much more than simply providing distraction or entertainment. By getting to know children as individuals, building trust and adapting care around their needs, health play professionals can make the difference between a child being unable to cope with a procedure and being able to receive the treatment they need.
“With a national shortage of health play professionals, it’s so important to recognise the skill, compassion and expertise of people like Amanda and shine a light on the difference she makes to children and families every day.”
Michael Errington, Ryman’s Managing Director, the awards headline sponsor, said: “We’re delighted to continue our support for the Starlight Health Play Awards and to help recognise the extraordinary people who make such a difference to children’s experiences of healthcare. The skill, imagination and dedication of health play professionals and some of their colleagues to help children feel safer, more confident and better able to cope with treatment and hospital stays is remarkable. We’re incredibly proud to celebrate their achievements and the impact they have on children and families every day.”
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