Swindon Town staff and players visit hospital patients ahead of Christmas
They were able to go into wards for the first time since COVID
Children being treated at the Great Western Hospital have received some special visitors.
Swindon Town staff and players have paid a visit to the wards there to wish patients a happy Christmas. It's the first time since COVID they could go inside - after having to drop off presents at the entrance last year.
Captain Angus MacDonald, Ben Gladwin, Tom Clayton and Ronan Darcy joined other team mates with sacks of presents and handed them out to young people of all ages.
The group took time to speak with mums and dads and take photos with the unsuspecting patients, embracing the smiles they received after handing out their gifts.
Kenresa Stratford is Community and Events Fundraising Manager at the Great Western Hospital and helped facilitate the visit. She said: “Having Swindon Town visit the ward has been an incredible experience.
“The last two years have been really tough for patients at the hospital with the pandemic, and it’s only really been over the last twelve months we’ve begun getting back to some normality.
“This feels like the first Christmas in a long time that we’ve been able to organise normal visits and relax the protocols slightly, and to have the manager and players come in and hand out gifts has been amazing.
“You only have to see the impact it’s had on the children and parents having them on the wards and being able to escape from reality for a short time and interact.”
Town defender Tom Clayton, said: “I really enjoyed visiting the ward with the lads, and it really puts life into perspective and makes you realise what’s important.
“This is a really small thing that we can do as players but it has a really positive effect on those we’ve met, and to see the children’s faces light up when receiving a present is so nice.”
The Children’s Unit has been running at the hospital for more than 20 years, providing care to young people up to the age of eighteen with a range medical and surgical needs.