Our work
There are people who turn a hospital room into a place of joy.
Palhaços d’Opital takes its mission to 11 hospitals from the north to the south of Portugal. On every visit, we turn hospital rooms into places of joy and bring our art to older people.
Goals
What we aim to change on every visit.
A long hospital stay can take us away from our routine, from the people we love and from everything that makes us feel at home. Our work aims to break that isolation and create moments that make the days lighter and more human. The impact of each visit goes beyond the person in hospital: it also reaches the families who accompany them and the healthcare professionals who care for them every day. For a few moments, the hospital becomes a place of humanity and joy, where there is room to smile again, even on the hardest days.
How we work
What goes into every visit.
The work of Palhaços d’Opital starts long before each visit. We invest more than 250 hours a year in internal and external training, in areas such as dementia, palliative care and hospital hygiene. This preparation, often invisible to those who watch the visits, is essential to adapt each visit to the needs and reality of older people in hospital.
hours of training a year
artists per visit
Where we are
Partner hospitals.
From north to south, alongside those who need it most.
Matosinhos
ULS Matosinhos
Porto
CHU de São João (CHUSJ)
Porto
ULS Santo António
Porto
IPO Porto
Coimbra
IPO Coimbra
Leiria
ULS Região de Leiria
Lisboa
ULS Santa Maria
Amadora
ULS Amadora Sintra
Lisboa
Hospital dos Capuchos (ULS São José)
Lisboa
ULS São José
Lisboa
IPO Lisboa
Areas of work
Where our Doutores d'Opital are present.
The work of Palhaços d’Opital adapts to the reality of each hospital, according to the cooperation agreement in place and in coordination with the healthcare teams.
Inpatient wards
Areas where care is provided to people whose clinical condition requires a stay in hospital, with continuous medical and nursing care, treatment and monitoring throughout the stay.
Outpatient clinics
Areas for welcoming and accompanying outpatients, from arrival and waiting to the appointment itself. These spaces connect reception, circulation and access to the consulting rooms, helping people move through their visit in an organised and comfortable way.
Day hospitals
Units that provide hospital care on an outpatient basis, for treatments, therapies, tests or clinical follow-up without a conventional hospital stay. People receive specialised care at the hospital and go home the same day.
Working together
We work in coordination with healthcare teams.
Our work is carried out in coordination with the healthcare teams of each hospital, fitting into the rhythm of the ward and never interrupting it. Humanisation, artistic presence and emotional wellbeing, always alongside clinical care.