Easing young people’s anxiety virtual reality pilot in Doncaster and Rotherham

The Children’s Service which is run by Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) is a finalist in the Nursing Times Awards 2023 for the Technology and Data in Nursing category.

The service has put forward its entry for this category for the work in piloting a virtual reality (VR) therapy programme to ease the symptoms of social anxiety, panic, and general anxiety.

The ‘Relax in Virtual Reality’ programme replicates real-world situations and is specially designed for children and young people. The aim of the pilot is to understand how VR can improve the therapy and treatment which is offered to benefit the people who use the service remotely.

The VR equipment includes a headset which is loaned to the young person for the duration of their treatment. The equipment allows the young person to connect remotely to a therapist and receive their treatment and support in real-time. The therapist can talk to the young person and provide personalised therapy.

Christina Harrison, RDaSH Children’s Service Director, said: “We’re always looking for innovative ways to improve how we deliver our therapies to the people who use our services who are experiencing feelings of anxiety. We’re running this pilot to learn more about the potential benefits of using this technology and how we can offer more choices to better suit the needs of young people and their families.”

The pilot is a partnership between the Children’s service and Concept Health, which provides the VR headset on loan

to the young for the duration of their treatment.

The team will find out if it has scooped a Nursing Times Award on 25 October 2023.