The Eastern Area Assistant Charity Steward, Russ Perks, recently submitted an application to the ELMC, for a Teddies for Loving Care (TLC) grant for Oldham Hospital Paediatrics Accident & Emergency Department, which was approved and dealt with very quickly by Karen at Hewlett Court. The department is open 24 hours a day providing care for children requiring emergency observation and assessment by the Paediatrics team. The department helps children from multiple areas, which cover the communities of Oldham, Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale.
A hospital visit can be frightening experience for a young child and the Teddies for the Loving Care initiative provides unique cuddly bears to the A&E departments for the medical staff to give to young children to help calm them down or help reduce the shock and distress of their experience, and they can also be used to reward them for being brave.
On Thursday 23rd May, Russ Perks accompanied by Andy Halford ( Eastern Area Chairman) and Andy Powell (Area Web Designer) made the journey to deliver the teddies to Oldham Paediatrics A&E department. They were welcomed into the department by the staff. Members of Staff said how well these teddies will help to calm down young children who are upset, and also said how one of these teddies was given to her niece at another hospital, for a reward of being brave when blood was being taken, and she still has her little teddy today. How grateful they are to be thought of and for receiving the bears and also a big thank you to both the ELMC and the Eastern Area Freemasons for their kind generosity.