Doctors operate on teddy bears to ease children's fear of hospital
The only anomaly is the patients: a plush toy whale with a tear in its underbelly, a stuffed dinosaur with a broken leg, and a teddy bear called Fridolin who complains of stomach pains after swallowing too much cotton wool.
For a few days each summer the western German city's teaching hospital, which trains medical students from the distinguished universities in Frankfurt and Heidelberg, is converted into a triage centre for cuddly toy animals.
This year more than 600 children from Darmstadt's nurseries, the largest cohort yet, were invited to visit the facility in an effort to educate them about the basic mechanics of the human body and ease any fear they might have of doctors or medical procedures.
The kindergarteners, between the ages of three and six, are advised to bring their own soft toys for treatment and dress up in scrubs and masks to carry it out themselves.
The 'teddy bear hospital' is staffed by 20 medical students approaching the end of their practical year. The highlight is a demonstration of live surgery on Fridolin, whose chest is opened up to reveal his heart.
Across eight rooms, the children watch the students applying bandages, taking x-rays and measuring their toys' temperatures. Those deemed to require drugs can obtain imitation pills from a trainee pharmacist.
There is also a dedicated ambulance from the German Red Cross, manned by volunteers and another teddy bear named Tom.
Bettina Brandt, the student co-ordinator who organises the teddy bear hospital, said: 'It's always great fun for both the children and the students. [The students] also learn a lot from interacting with the children and conducting the medical examinations.'
The programme is sponsored by a Darmstadt citizens' initiative, an organic supermarket, a car dealership and a pharmacy.
'Promoting health starts with the very youngest,' said Clemens Maurer, a spokesman for the hospital. 'We want them to lose their angst around medical professionals or a stay in hospital, since the whole thing no longer seems so alien to them afterwards.'
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