Health screenings: Where hospitals’ TLC includes a movie theatre
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Watching movies helps patients like those at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital escape the stress and boredom of ward life.
PHOTOS: DOMINIC WHISSON/NYTIMES
Alex Marshall
LONDON – Federico Songprasert was excitedly preparing to go and watch Toy Story 5 one recent Tuesday when he learnt of a horrid setback: The movie theatre that the 11-year-old was heading to didn’t allow snacks.
He was a patient at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where he was being treated for a hernia, and the cinema was just a short trip from his ward. It is one of nine movie theatres run by the non-profit MediCinema inside hospitals around Britain to give patients a chance to escape the stress or boredom of ward life for a few hours while watching the latest blockbusters.