THE charity set up by a former Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year is going global.

Australian medical experts are interested in collaborating with Teapot Trust, which has been delivering life-changing art therapy sessions in hospitals for eight years.

It was set up by Laura Young, following the death of her young daughter, to help take some of the stress and fear out of hospital visits for chronically ill children.

It now provides a nationwide programme of art therapy across Scotland and England and is held in high regard by clinicians across the UK.

Dr Young met Joanne Somerville, from the University of Western Australia in Perth, where she is an associate professor and discipline co-ordinator of paediatrics and child health.

Together they visited Teapot Trust’s art therapy service in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, where they met with young patients, their families and the charity’s staff.

Dr Young said the visit highlighted the charity’s potential to grow internationally.

“In almost eight years, the Teapot Trust has grown from a small Scottish charity to branching out across the UK,” she said.

“Joanne’s work links with Perth Children’s Hospital, which sees around 250,000 inpatient and outpatient visits each year.”

She added: “Joanne is interested in the development of a Teapot Trust art therapy project for the new hospital, as well as exploring research in this area.

“I am delighted to have this amazing international visitor and hear about her work with children and young people.”

Dr Young added: “Joanne’s interest in our work is a huge compliment to Teapot Trust and it is great to begin sharing ideas.”

Joanne said “It was an absolute pleasure to meet Laura and her team during my visit to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.

“It was inspiring to see first-hand the amazing work Teapot Trust is doing to reduce stress and anxiety in chronically ill children and their families requiring hospital care.”

She added: “It was great to be able to explore some ideas for research into the benefits of art therapy and explore the prospect of a collaboration with Teapot Trust to bring art therapy to the children of Western Australia.”

Laura was named 2016 Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year in honour of her tireless commitment to the charity following the death of eight-year-old Verity.

Verity had lupus and cancer, and hated hospitals, but she loved to draw .

Dr Young explained: “Getting Verity into hospital was a real struggle – she hated it, and would cry and scream and refuse to go.

“I would watch other parents of sick children going through the same thing and think – there must be a better way to do this. I came up with the idea of using art to help take the children’s minds off what they were doing – and the Teapot Trust was born.”

Dr Young and her husband John set up the charity in 2010. It now employs more than 17 professional art therapists in around 22 projects across the country.