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Christmas care for children at Great Ormond Street

BBC Lis, wearing festive pyjamas with gingerbread men and snowmen, sits beside her mum Rebecca, both wearing red spiral Santa hat headbands, in a hospital room at Great Ormond Street Hospital.BBC
Lis, pictured with her mother Rebecca, has spent Christmas in hospital before

A senior nurse who will be looking after children in Great Ormond Street Hospital on Christmas Day, has said although the wards can be "quite a sad environment at times", they try to make it "quite light and quite nice".

Katherine French made the comments as BBC London toured the hospital, meeting those who will be working throughout Christmas - and those who will be receiving their care.

Lis, 12, has been receiving treatment for kidney failure at GOSH for much of her life.

Having spent Christmas on the ward before, she said the hospital did lots of things over the festive period, including giving presents to patients and their siblings thanks to the donations it receives.

"The nurses are so good with the kids. It's just another level of care up here," said Rebecca, Lis's mother.

Two Great Ormond Street Hospital volunteers in yellow uniforms stand in a festive hospital lobby decorated with Christmas trees and a model of Big Ben, one wearing reindeer antlers and holiday-themed glasses.
Volunteers Carol and Marcia are donating their time to the hospital over the festive period

Carol Warner said the care that the hospital provided was what inspired her to volunteer.

"I had a grandson who was at Great Ormond Street who sadly passed away," she said.

"He didn't make it to a Christmas here but I was so impressed with the staff and how they were all so kind."

Fellow volunteer Marcia Watson has been giving her free time to the hospital for 13 years and is no stranger to working Christmas on its wards.

"I trained here a long time ago and I spent time here as a student nurse," she says.

"It's very special working here."

Nurse Katherine, wearing a blue uniform and glasses, smiles while surrounded by medical equipment and colourful decorations of fish on the windows.
Nurse Katherine French is among the many staff working on Christmas Day

Another way in which the hospital aimed to make its wards feel like a home away from home, is with its Christmas dinner.

David Hill, the hospital's head of catering, said: "We're looking at 800 meals on Christmas Day, including 140 kilos of turkey, 120 kilos of potatoes, and 100 litres of gravy.

"It's busy but it's worth it."

Romana Kazmi, wearing a headscarf and festive red cardigan, in the chapel at Great Ormond Street Hospital, with a lit Christmas tree and nativity scene in the background under the word 'Alleluia'.
Chaplains such as Romana provide spiritual care for people of all faiths

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