A stay in hospital is never very pleasant – and certainly not funny.

It has been suggested nurses should be sent to “laughter workshops” to help them be more cheerful on the wards. But one of Colchester’s top matrons has said humour in hospitals should be “appropriate and professional”, rather than forced.

Rebecca Pulford, senior matron for planned care, said she encouraged her staff to be cheerful and friendly, but not to overstep the mark.

Her comments came as Kate Hull Rodgers, founder of company HumourUs, told magazine Nursing Standard that nurses should be sent to laughter workshops to make hospital stays more pleasant for patients.

Ms Pulford said: “Smiling and being friendly and being professional in any job is important, and I would always promote good customer service.

“Chris Beasley, chief nursing officer for the Royal College of Nursing, spoke at a meeting, saying she wants to promote professionalism and I agree with that.

“Humour workshops are a very different thing in my mind – if they teach people to force laughter, then that’s not good because people would see through it.”

  • Read on in today's Gazette