Nepal sends in the clowns to help young patients
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Medical clown David Barashi (left) interacting with a patient during a visit to Dhulikhel hospital on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Dec 4, 2012. He may not be much of a doctor but the children's faces light up when his persona, Dush The Clown, shuffles onto their ward in his floppy shoes and red nose to prescribe his unique brand of medical care. Mr Barashi was in Nepal to teach doctors and nurses that laughter really can be the best medicine, with the latest evidence suggesting clowning around in hospitals can boost patient care. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Medical clown David Barashi blowing bubbles for a patient during a visit to Dhulikhel hospital on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Dec 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Medical clown David Barashi walking through a ward in the Dhulikhel hospital, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on Dec 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Medical clown David Barashi (left) interacting with a patient during a visit to Dhulikhel hospital on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Dec 4, 2012. He may not be much of a doctor but the children's faces light up when his persona, Dush The Clown, shuffles onto their ward in his floppy shoes and red nose to prescribe his unique brand of medical care. Mr Barashi was in Nepal to teach doctors and nurses that laughter really can be the best medicine, with the latest evidence suggesting clowning around in hospitals can boost patient care. -- PHOTO: AFP
Medical clown David Barashi blowing bubbles for a patient during a visit to Dhulikhel hospital on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Dec 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Medical clown David Barashi walking through a ward in the Dhulikhel hospital, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on Dec 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
DHULIKHEL, Nepal (AFP) - He may not be much of a doctor but the children's faces light up when Dush The Clown shuffles onto their ward in his floppy shoes and red nose to prescribe his unique brand of medical care.
Dush - alias 36-year-old Israeli David Barashi - is in Nepal to teach doctors and nurses that laughter really can be the best medicine, with the latest evidence suggesting clowning around in hospitals can boost patient care.
"Everyone can take something from the clown," said Mr Barashi, who has worked as a qualified medical clown for ten years.
"When you are in a hospital, you shouldn't just see the sick and the painful side of the patient, you should see the healthy side, the side that wants to be a kid.
