‘I wanted to bring Xmas magic to hospital wards’, says choirmaster Gareth
Jenifer and Charlotte
SENIOR STAFF NURSE EMMA NICHOLAS, ROYAL MARSDEN HOSPITAL
on Christmas Day, so I’ll be getting as much sleep as I can in the morning. And I still get to have Christmas dinner with my family, which is good as that’s the best bit. It can be hard being away from family but they understand and it’s all part of the job.”
Lauren Marks, 26, is a staff nurse at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
She says: “This year, my Christmas Day shift starts at 7.30am so I hope to see presents being opened.
“This will be my first Christmas in Edinburgh, the first time I’ve worked on Christmas Day and my first Christmas away from my family, so it will feel strange.
“I’ve been at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children for eight months and before that I worked at a children’s hospital in Cardiff, where my family live. “In Cardiff, I did a Christmas Eve night shift, when there was a really nice atmosphere. I’m looking forward to seeing my family in Cardiff on Boxing Day.”
Charlotte Twigdon-Williams, 25, is a nurse on the Fox Ward at London’s Great Ormond Street which cares for kids with conditions including blood disorders, cancer, leukaemia and immune issues.
She says: “The atmosphere on the ward is cheery and festive. The children get presents from their families and staff dress up. The first year I qualified I found it hard to be away from my family but it helps that Fox Ward is such a close team. We get amazing support from the public through GOSH Charity’s Stocking Appeal.
“It’s special to know people are making donations to support the children, some of whom are a long way from home here.”
Jenifer Munro, 22, is a nurse on Great Ormond Street’s Pelican ward, for joint and muscle issues.
She says: “This is my first Christmas as a qualified nurse at GOSH and I’m looking forward to it. As a student, you tend to work shifts before and after Christmas Day so you never get to be with the children when they open their presents. I’m really looking forward to seeing that side of it.
VICTORIA KETLAND ON MAKING DAY SPECIAL
There will be presents from Santa and a special Christmas dinner.”
Mandy Chillingworth, pictured below, is ward manager on the children’s unit at Royal Blackburn Hospital in Lancashire.
She says: “Children and families unfortunately sometimes find themselves on the children’s unit on Christmas day.
“This can become a lifelong memory for parents and the children if they are old enough to remember the experience. We strive to make their memories as good as can be, given the circumstances.
“Of course, we ourselves are also away from our families and loved ones, so it is even more important to make the day as special as we can.”
Her colleague, sister Victoria Ketland, is on duty this Christmas and adds: “There is a great sense of family between the staff on Christmas day. We become each other’s family, including the children and their loved ones. We play music, wear tinsel in our hair and keep smiling. The kids wake to the magic of Santa knowing where they are and leaving them a gift.
“When dinner is served, staff will also have Christmas food together. We just try to keep the magic alive for everyone.”
HE’S turned everyone from sulky teenagers to military wives into singing superstars.
But this year, choirmaster Gareth Malone is bringing Christmas magic to a hospital over the festive period.
Gareth knows first-hand how tough Christmas can be for those with loved ones in hospital after his grandmother was taken in at 11pm on Christmas Eve in 2003.
So he put together a 200-strong Christmas choir made up from patients, relatives and hardworking nurses, doctors and NHS support staff at Watford
General Hospital.
The BBC star said: “We wanted the concert to represent the whole hospital. It was amazing – the place is full of talent. It’s tough working in the NHS, especially at Christmas time. We all need a bit of magic and time out.”
One of the stars of the choir was six-year-old Betsy, whose inoperable brain tumour means she’s been a regular visitor to the hospital since the age of two.
She was left visually impaired by 18 months of chemotherapy but boldly took to the stage with her mum and younger sister Ava for a rendition of Rocking Around The Christmas Tree. Gareth
Gareth with a patient praised the staff who care for children like her.
He said: “Children’s wards are so magical. The kids form these incredible bonds with the staff, especially with long-term patients like Betsy.”
Some elderly patients were too ill to attend the concert so Gareth recorded them singing in their wards.
“I was there for hours talking to them,” he said. “There was one guy who was a World War II pilot of the Lancaster bomber, which is what my grandfather flew in. We sat and talked about the war. It was so lovely.”
And when overstretched anaesthetist Malthi was left in tears after being called out of rehearsals to attend to emergencies, Gareth helped her train for her show-opening solo at home.
For the finale, 150 extra carollers who had been born or treated in the hospital joined in.
And as family and friends watched the show unfold in the hospital canteen, there was not a dry eye in the house.
Gareth said: “We had a fantastic reaction. I wanted it to be a celebration of the staff and the families and have a little Christmas moment.”
■ Gareth Malone’s Christmas Concert is on BBC2 tonight, 9pm, and Christmas Day, 1.30pm.
With NHS trust boss
VOICE OF AN ANGEL Choir members enjoy rehearsing at hospital
We wear tinsel in our hair and try to keep the magic alive for everyone