Children in Hospital Ireland (CHI), one of the country’s leading children’s charities, is bringing its unique fun-filled Roadshow with a host of entertainers to children in the region’s hospitals starting this weekend.

The Roadshow will be in Wexford General on Monday, Waterford Regional on Tuesday, Kilkenny General on Wednesday and in South Tipperary General Clonmel on Thursday next.

Mary O’Connor, CEO of CHI, told The Munster Express: “For the children, a visit from the Roadshow will mean a day of entertainment and exciting activities. When in hospital, play and fun activities offer a distraction and can help children cope with the situation. Promoting the benefit of play in hospitals is one of our key aims.”

The two month tour organised by CHI is one of the biggest such events ever held in Ireland to support sick children and their families, and as such will travel to 26 hospitals which care for children.

Children in Hospital Ireland is a voluntary organisation that has worked for nearly 40 years promoting the welfare, emotional and developmental needs of children in hospital, as well as providing play in hospitals through its ‘PlayWell’ service.

Each year in Ireland there are, on average, over 270,000 hospital visits by children. For over 150,000 children this means an average of a 3-night stay.

Some 75,000 child inpatients are under 4 years old and almost all go through child emergency departments.