On Tuesday, 13 October 2026, nurse Lorenzo Bergua to Hospital Universitario San Jorge in Huesca a collection of 48 children’s books. The stories explain medical examinations, treatments and illnesses in simple language and with illustrations, helping young patients understand everyday life in hospital. The hospital plans to add the collection to the resources of its Pädiatrie .
The books describe routine procedures such as Blutentnahmen, Röntgenaufnahmen or having a cast fitted. They also cover more serious diagnoses, including Diabetes Typ 1 and Krebs im Kindesalter. The aim is to show children in advance what will happen and why certain procedures are necessary. According to regional reports, this is intended to reduce anxiety, encourage cooperation and make conversations between medical staff, children and families easier.
By his own account, Bergua started the series at home: his three children regularly asked him about his work in hospital. Short explanatory stories grew into a larger collection, which is now being made available to the public as part of paediatric care. Regional media in Aragon reported on the donation and consistently gave the collection’s size as 48 titles and said it was intended for use in paediatrics.
The hospital management presents the books as a supplementary tool, not a replacement for care. Preparing children in an age-appropriate way is considered a practical intervention in paediatrics to reduce stress before procedures and prevent refusal. No specific evidence of the impact of this particular collection is yet available; the hospital cites its educational and communicative value as the reason for adding it to its resources.
The materials are to be available in waiting areas and treatment rooms, and used in discussions with patients where appropriate. It remains unclear whether the collection will also be incorporated into preventive services, school partnerships or health education programmes outside the hospital. A digital version could also make it accessible to families before or after a hospital stay.
The donation gives Hospital Universitario San Jorge a readily accessible resource intended to reduce linguistic and emotional barriers in people’s interactions with the health system. In a regional setting such as Aragón, where healthcare capacity can be under considerable strain, expanding resources in this way can provide targeted support for patient-centred communication in paediatrics.
Editor: Clara Simonichek (Article created with AI assistance).