Walter Sisulu University Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery students painted a Paediatric ward of the Butterworth Provincial Hospital with bright colours to induce the psychological benefits of Colour Therapy believed  to help speed up  recovery in children.

Chromotherapy also knows as colour therapy has been found to be one of the ways to treat certain mental and physical health conditions.

The history of colour medicine is as old as that of any other medicine. The Egyptians utilised sunlight as well as colour for healing.

The WSU medical students were placed at the Butterworth Provincial Hospital for their Integrated Longitudinal Community Clerkship (ILCC).

This clerkship allows students to follow a panel of patients over time as they move through various healthcare settings, observing the variety of patient services at all levels of health care.

Though not popular in the Eastern Cape hospitals, studies have shown that colour makes children and parents calmer. According to experts, it is recommended that  paediatric wards use bright and cheerful colours for healing therapy of children.

It all started with a vision of not only seeking to provide  basic healthcare services for infants and children, but also contribute to the process of healing through colour therapy.

MBChB student, Zoyolo Tshangana, said, “We saw the paediatric ward as dull for children and thought that a colourful and playful ward would assist in speeding up their recovery and also to have less fear of the hospital environment and make it as homely as possible.”

Moderated use of red colour induces the energetic behaviour and excitement among paediatric patients. While blue keeps them calm, green has proven to soothe tension in muscles and nerves.

Studies have proven that the social, psychological, physical, spiritual, and behavioural components of health care support and stimulate the body’s innate capacity to heal itself.

“We were used to the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital that had bright colours in the paediatric ward and we used to see children playing there, forgetting that they are in a hospital setup and we knew it was because of colour therapy which was not at Butterworth Hospital,” added Tshangana.

The students said they wanted to leave their mark at the end of their Butterworth rotation and they wanted something that can be seen.

The students did not just pain the paediatric ward but also tried to record the time it takes for a patient to see a doctor when they arrive and checked where they usually delay in order for the hospital to work towards improving.

By Anita Roji