Hospital cancels Christmas for charity king
CARING COUPLE BANNED FROM HANDING OUT HOSPITAL GIFTS
THEY are Santa’s little helpers who have brought joy to Tyneside’s sickest children at Christmas...but not this year.
Hospital bosses have told mum and dad Stephen Browne and Laura Davidson that while their generous gifts are welcome, they aren’t.
Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary said this year the parents of desperately ill Milo Brown, six, won’t be accommodated.
Among the reasons, said NHS officials in an email, is to “minimise risks of infection”.
But dad Stephen, of North Shields, said: “It is heartbreaking.”
Only eight people in the world have suffered Milo’s condition, M3BHA. It is so rare, there’s no known cure.
“Every year we worry this is going to be his last Christmas, so we know what parents with children in hospital are going through,” said Stephen.
So every year, they collect sacks of gifts to try and spread some festive cheer on the hospital’s wards.
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said it “greatly appreciates” such gestures.
But the trust said with wards packed, and staff working all hours to get as many children home as possible, visits like this can take staff away from their duties.
“As a result we do, on rare occasions, have to decline donor visits,” said a spokesperson.
“However, when this happens our staff will try to make alternative arrangements to allow donors to deliver their much-appreciated gifts and receive the thanks they deserve for their generosity.”
But Stephen said he doesn’t do this for publicity.
“We want to deliver the presents in person so we know the right gift is going to the right child,” said the 32-year-old.
“If there is a girl aged four we will get a present that’s fitting for them - not just give anything.
“And we need them to be wrapped, as half the fun is opening them up.
“And you don’t want to be giving one child something worth £200 while the child next to them gets a selection box, and I worry this will hapen.”
He also questioned why his family who have made the RVI their “second home” during Milo’s lifelong battle are an infection risk while footballers, panto stars and rugby players “coming to give out a few selection boxes for the publicity” are not.
Days before last Christmas, a string of NUFC stars like DeAndre Yedlin visited. It isn’t known if any more are planned this year.
Stephen said: “Just because you are a
You don’t want to be giving one child something worth £200 while the child next to them gets a selection box
celebrity doesn’t mean you are immune to getting diseases.”
The trust spokesperson said patients and staff said the gifts and charity offered throughout the year is welcomed by everyone at the hospital.
“Those donations are particularly appreciated at Christmas, but it is also a time when a lot of organisations and individuals want to visit our wards to present those gifts in person,” they added.
“We do our very best to support these visits.
“We know from past experience that Christmas can be extremely busy for our clinical teams as they work hard to get as many children as possible home to their families for even a short amount of time at Christmas.
“This means that often the children that remain on our wards at Christmas are some of the sickest youngsters, who require intensive support from our clinical staff.
“Our first priority is the care and safety of our patients, and at such busy times supporting donor visits can take valuable staff away from their clinical duties. As a result we do, on rare occasions, have to decline donor visits.
“However, when this happens our staff will try to make alternative arrangements to allow donors to deliver their much appreciated gifts and receive the thanks they deserve for their generosity.”
For Stephen - and supporters of ‘Our Milo’ - the thousand-plus gifts they are hoping to deliver this year are now “on standby”.
The family say the gifts - which have not been collected yet - could instead be delivered to St Oswald’s Hospice and Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital.
But after all they’ve been through and as a thank you to the RVI - he ideally still wants them to go to the hospital.
He just doesn’t know why Milo’s supporters can’t be there to see the smile on the faces of children when they get them - when Premier League stars don’t have any issue.
“That hospital has kept our son alive for so long, and he’s spent so much time there it is a home away for home,” he said.
“We are always grateful - but this red tape is just silly.”