Staff at The Royal Oldham’s children’s ward celebrate first year in new unit

Grace Hadfield enjoying the party

More than 4,850 children have been treated as inpatients and 4,700 have attended the paediatric observation and assessment unit at The Royal Oldham Hospital’s new children’s ward since it moved to its new premises last November.

Now situated in the £44 million women and children’s supercentre, the paediatric inpatient service treats children from the Oldham, Rochdale and surrounding communities and districts in a state-of-the-art unit.

To help celebrate the successful first year in operation, the ward staff, along with children, parents and siblings held a special first anniversary party where they were entertained with a magician and face painter. Regular past patients were also invited to join in the fun and they all tucked in to party food and a special anniversary cake, along with receiving a goody bag to commemorate the day.

The paediatric service has a total of 33 beds which includes inpatient services, day case facilities and paediatric observation and assessment services. The ward is brightly decorated as the four seasons of the year. It offers excellent accommodation for children and families with ensuite 4 bedded bays and individual rooms, a beautiful play room and outdoor play area, and a special sensory room and parents/visitors’ sitting room.

Yvonne Tunstall, divisional nurse manager for children’s services at the Trust, said: “It has been one year since our new women and children’s development here at The Royal Oldham Hospital opened. Our new facilities and new equipment offer children and families high quality care in a modern, bright and spacious environment, which were designed with input from children being treated in the hospital. The new facility provides a full range of high quality services to women, children and babies.”

Sister Ann Sutherland, ward manager on the children’s unit, said: “All the children really enjoyed the party. The highlight for them was having fun with the entertainer, having their faces painted and eating lots of party food.”

One child attending the party said: “My highlight was Barrington the entertainer, doing magic tricks.”

The Starlight Children’s Foundation which delivers services into children’s wards across the country, through creating happy memories and granting children’s wishes, funded the party on the children’s ward.

Staff at the new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at The Royal Oldham Hospital are also holding a special celebration event for local families on Sunday 17th November (between 1-4pm) to mark World Prematurity Day and the unit’s first year anniversary since it opened. The afternoon event is open to the general public and particularly those parents and families from Oldham, Rochdale and surrounding areas who have experienced their children being born prematurely and who have been treated by the neonatal staff.