NEW £100k Victoria Infirmary Northwich (VIN) Appeal Launches

Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity (MCH Charity) is delighted to announce the launch of a new fundraising appeal specifically for the benefit of Victoria Infirmary, Northwich (VIN). Money raised through the appeal will help to improve children’s experience when attending VIN for medical care.

The appeal will fund the creation of a separate, safe, child friendly waiting room within the main waiting area at VIN. It will also fund a high-tech interactive floor projector and sensory play wall fixed activity units to help distract and entertain children who may otherwise find being in a hospital environment challenging.

It is hoped that by providing a calming, environment the space will help to relax children of all ages, so that their experience is the best that it can be. The dedicated space will also help relieve the stress and worry parents and carers can experience when bringing their child to hospital.

The charity has set a challenging target of £100,000 to fund the creation of this space and to potentially help in other departments across VIN to help improve patient care and experience.

This new appeal follows a successful campaign during 2021 to provide a more child friendly environment within the new paediatric unit of the Emergency Care department at Leighton Hospital, Crewe.

Ceri Donovan, Paediatric Advanced Clinical Practitioner at Leighton Hospital said, “The interactive floor projectors that were funded by the charity play a huge part in helping us to calm and distract children who attend the unit.

 “I remember we had a little girl in who was very distressed, and we were finding it difficult to calm her. I took her to where the projector was and within seconds her attention was on it and she almost immediately calmed down, it was amazing to see.”                                                                                                   

Karen Bowman, General Manager at VIN said, “We are delighted to be working with MCH Charity to launch this appeal which will support in improving the facilities we have at VIN and enable us to create a safe and welcoming environment for our paediatric patients.”

Emma Robertson, MCH Charity Manager said, “The kit we were able to provide at Leighton has made such a big difference to the experience children have when attending hospital, so we already know how important this appeal is going to be for the families of Northwich and surrounding areas.

 “We are a small but very enthusiastic team who are so excited about the prospect of working with local people, groups and businesses to raise these funds, we would love to hear from you if you can help!”

The announcement of the appeal comes just weeks after Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust announced that £14.1 million has been allocated to build a Cheshire Elective Hub at VIN.

The proposed development will have a range of state-of-the-art clinical areas to support patient care, including two theatres, recovery area and consulting rooms.

If you would like to find out more about the appeal, or would like to make a donation, please visit our appeal page here

 

Young patient trying out the interactive floor projector at Leighton
Young patient trying out the interactive floor projector at Leighton