hospital's fear factor

Report by

Chief Reporter CHRIS REED

MEDICAL chiefs have unveiled a state-of-the-art facility designed to make hospital visits easier for youngsters.

The children's outpatient unit at Leighton Hospital cost more than £200,000 and was funded through a mixture of Government cash and public donations.

"It's wonderful," said Julie Rothwell, who visited the facility with her son Oliver last week.

"Before we used to have to go into the wards and seeing all the beds made Oliver realise he was unwell. We were worried about cross-contamination too."

Now that's all changed. The purpose-built unit features a supervised play area, spacious waiting room, teenagers' area and mother and baby facilities.

And staff are convinced the facilities will make hospital visits less daunting for the 7,500 youngsters who attend Leighton each year.

It was paid for by Mid Cheshire Hospitals, with Leighton's League of Friends spending £7,500 on play equipment and the Women's Royal Voluntary Service donating £10,000 for furniture.

Paediatrics chief Dr Bob Pugh said: "Our staff have taken a great deal of time to ensure the unit layout, decoration and specification will be safe and welcoming for children and ease the trauma of their visit to hospital."

Mrs Rothwell can vouch for that. She visits Leighton at least every two months with Oliver, who is being treated for cystic fibrosis.

"Now we go to see the physio, the dietician and finally the doctor, all in separate offices," said the mum from Riverside Park in Northwich.

"We can also see specialists from Alder Hey Children's Hospital there without making a separate journey."

And what did St Wilfrid's Primary pupil Oliver think?

"He liked it," she said. "There was plenty of Lego for him to play with."

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