The Pupil Leadership team and the Year 6 Prayer Councillors visited St Bart's Pantry to see where our harvest donations went. It was an inspiring day as the children saw how local residents could access a fantastic range of support and food.

Our Trip to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital

By Millie

On Thursday 9^th June, the pupil leadership team went to visit the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital to see the equipment funded by the money we raised for them in the 2020 Lenten project. In that year, we raised £2550.32 for the hospital, which was a tremendous amount of money because it was during Covid-19 and not many people were in school.

When we arrived, we went up to the waiting area for the children’s ward were there were electronic games which were particularly funded by our donations. It made children not fear going to hospital as it feels more natural and fun rather then being scary. It was great to know that our money was helping so many children.

After that, we went to the examination rooms, which were labelled with an ‘under the sea’ theme to make it feel friendly (e.g. Turtle Bay, Starfish Bay.) Inside the rooms was equipment used for examinations of patients. We noticed that it was beautifully decorated which made patients feel comfortable. We all agreed that if we were patients we would feel so much more comfortable with equipment such as these tiles. We also were lucky enough to have the chance to use some of this equipment like a blood and oxygen tester! My blood pressure was 120/80 and my oxygen level was 94%.

After, we explored the treatment rooms. In this room was a walking mat which lit up! There was also a bubble tube which was so calming and satisfying. It gave the room a comforting feeling. The last place in the children’s ward we went to was a room where you could relax and calm down. It was so reassuring and helped relieve stress patients had. A lot of time and effort had gone into the room such as the fact that they looked for one of the most comforting and relaxing colour schemes. Then we soon left the children’s ward and went to another area in the hospital.

After exploring the amazing rooms and trying many fun, relaxing pieces of equipment, we headed for cake and juice. People who worked in the ROH were introduced to us. Such as: Andrew (a surgeon), Monica (a nurse), Jenny (head receptionist), Ali (chief of charities) and many other people who played other vital roles in the hospital. We were surprised about how many people were needed to run a successful and safe hospital. They each gave speeches about their jobs. They were very devoted to their professions; they really inspired us and helped open our eyes and have a positive view on hospitals. The staff were hard-working members of the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital. We could see how determined they were, they were extremely motivated and obviously enjoyed their occupations thoroughly. We were really moved by them. The members of staff all had a different story, background and personality, it showed us that no matter who we are we could do whatever we aspired to do especially working in important life-saving jobs in the hospital. We got a tote bag from the ROH filled with goodies such as chocolates, pens and a notepad. They were so nice and generous, we had an amazing time!