Northampton Saints spread Christmas cheer at NGH

On Tuesday (3^rd December) the Northampton Saints took a break away from the rugby pitch, to spread some Christmas cheer to patients, visitors and staff at Northampton General Hospital.

Over 25 players visited wards and departments to bring gifts for patients and chat with them. Areas visited included the A&E department, Esther White and Walter Tull wards, the Oncology department, Haematology, Chemotherapy, Talbot Butler ward and the children’s wards Disney and Paddington.

The players were also there to donate presents for patients donated as part of the Travis Perkins Big Christmas Toy Appeal. Sue Faulkner, Play Service coordinator at the hospital, thanked the team and local community for their donations “We would like to thank Northampton Saints, Travis Perkins and all of those who donated to the toy appeal for their kindness. We are so grateful for the donations we receive and these gifts will help to brighten up Christmas for the children who are staying with us during the festive season. The children and young adults always enjoy these visits and their time spent with the players”.

During the visit the team spent time with patients who were undergoing treatment in the chemotherapy and haematology suites. These treatments typically take a long while so having a visit helped to break up the day for patients.

Wendy Smith, Macmillan Information and Support Lead, was delighted to welcome the players back to the hospital again this year “Patients and relatives really enjoy the players visiting. One highlight was when Debbie, one of our chaperones, went back to the ward to see a patient still looking at her photos on her phone with a big grin.  We saw a lot of patients and families smile that day”.

Siobhan Abrahams, Advanced Clinical Pharmacist in A&E and urgent care, was on hand to help with the visit and also saw the positive impact the visit had on patients “During the visit the players asked me why the patients in the chemotherapy and haematology suites were so cheerful when they were so ill and I was able to tell them that part of the reason was down to them!  Being in hospital for treatment can be boring as these patients especially can be here for hours during their treatment. Having that visit not only brightens their day for the time that the players are there but also gives them something new to talk about for the rest of the day”.