Bristol Bears team up with Bristol and Weston Hospitals charity

Thursday, February 23rd 2023

We’ve teamed up with Bristol and Weston Hospitals charity for this weekend’s match against The University of Worcester Warriors Women in the Allianz Premier 15s.

We’re celebrating all the amazing work our NHS heroes do this matchday. The charity will be at the ground on Saturday fundraising and engaging with supporters.

Discover a bit about the impact the charity has in 10 hospitals in Bristol and Weston:

Refurbished playroom for Dolphin and Penguin Ward at Bristol Children’s Hospital

Last year, the shared playroom between Dolphin and Penguin Ward at Bristol Children’s Hospital was refurbished for the first time since the hospital opened in 2001. The playroom is now fit for purpose and welcoming to all ages. It provides a broader selection of activities and is a playroom the children “love to spend time in”.

The new playroom covers 40 inpatients and is used for arts and crafts, sensory play, preparation for procedures (distraction), as well as a relaxing area for older patients in the evenings. It is accessible to patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Dementia resources

At any one time, there are more than 100 inpatients across our hospitals who have dementia or delirium. Patients can stay for weeks or even months and not leave the hospital building at all.

We’re providing a range of appropriate and personalised activities, including reminiscence cards and picture books that can prompt memories and discussion, puzzles, and specialist clock to help patients with reminders. We’re also funding a musician-in-residence at the hospitals to play live music for patients on wards, in bays and at their bedside. They’ll engage patients in playing musical instruments in small groups and one-on-one, introducing instruments, props and imagery to patients as a prompt for conversation and reminiscence.

These activities will help patients have a better hospital experience, reducing levels of distress and anxiety for both patients and their carers.

An MRI scanner for South Bristol Community Hospital

The £1.5million scanner is a highly specialised piece of equipment that enables NHS staff to image the head and joints in new ways, which better supports treatment decisions.

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