16 June 2009
Supporters of Queen Mary's Hospital for Children, which is based at St Helier Hospital, took to the streets on Saturday 13 June as part of the Carshalton Carnival.
Dressed in planet and star-themed fancy dress and pushing an old hospital bed, the team of staff, young patients and parents walked the two mile carnival route while collecting donations from the crowds who had lined the route.
All of the hard work, including costume making and adapting the wheels on the bed so that it could be pushed for a long distance, certainly paid off as the group came first in the walking float category. The top prize consisted of £50, a trophy and a glass plaque.
All of the money raised will go towards the hospital's centenary fund, which will be used to build an outside play area for children using the hospital, as well as state-of-the-art medical equipment.
Sue Collis, a senior paediatric nurse at the hospital, said: "It was a fantastic day. The weather was perfect, and everyone seemed to have a brilliant time.
"It was quite hard work at times - two miles is a long way to walk for children with little legs! Luckily, we had the old bed with us, so they took it in turns to have a little rest and be pushed for some of the way.
"The streets were packed full of people, and there was a great atmosphere throughout the day. The kids especially had a brilliant time, they loved being the centre of attention and they all loved their specially-made outfits."
But it wasn't just the youngsters that enjoyed the day - a Queen Mary's merchandise stall, which was selling notepads, badges, bags and tea towels attracted a number of people that had been treated at the hospital many years ago.
Sue said: "We've got lots of black and white photos from the very early days of the hospital, and they're a great talking point. People were swapping their stories with us and trying to find themselves on the old pictures. Some of the stories were quite emotional, but it was brilliant to hear people's experiences of our hospital."
All are welcome to join the next event in the hospital's centenary celebrations - a fete at Sutton Arena on 22 August.
For more information, or to get involved with any upcoming events, please contact Sue Collis on 020 8296 2458. Alternatively, email sue.collis@esth.nhs.uk.
