Young patients on the Children’s Ward at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) had an amazing surprise when Santa’s helpers arrived to connect them with Santa in Lapland via a digital screen and iPad.
You can watch a video of the visit on this link: Cisco Christmas visit to RLI Childrens Ward - YouTube
Santa’s helpers from Cisco Systems in the North West of England, had collected a fabulous array of presents for the children to choose from in a special Christmas Grotto on the ward run by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT).
Children who couldn’t leave their beds due to illness, were delighted when Santa’s helpers arrived with an iPad and Santa asked them what they would like for Christmas.
Tina Fearn, a mum with a baby girl on the ward, said: “It’s a really lovely thing that they have done. My daughter has loved it.”
As the photographs show, Tina’s baby girl thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would not let go of her new cuddly toy giraffe from Santa and his helpers.
Stephen Garringe, whose young daughter received presents at her bedside, agreed that it was a magical event.
The ‘Connected Santa’ event is part of Cisco’s commitment to give back to communities. Connected Santa is run virtually for health and safety reasons and it has a worldwide reach. Cisco UK’s Connected Santa initiative has been led by Sarah Winchester and Joanne Bugg for nearly 20 years.
Every year Cisco’s employees buy presents for children in hospital and this year they chose the RLI as one of their sites to visit. Daniel Hughes, Mark Williams and Bo Tyler from Cisco’s North West sales team visited the RLI and were extremely kind and caring with the children.
Daniel, a dad of two girls, said: “It’s the first time we’ve been to the hospital in Lancaster. It’s really nice to work with the hospitals each year. This is just something good for the children while they are in hospital. It’s a bespoke consultation with Father Christmas in Lapland. Cisco is a company that specialises in Wi-Fi access points and similar technology, so we are well set up to connect children to Santa via digital screens and iPads. It’s all great fun!”
Maria Barrick, Health Play Specialist on the RLI Children’s Ward, made decorations with patients, volunteers and colleagues from the Children’s Ward for the grotto and around the whole of the ward.
Jen Mills, Children’s Ward Manager, said: “It has been amazing. In the current climate, for people to give so generously is really touching. We are very lucky to have had them here.”
Janet Manning, Chief Nursing Information Officer for UHMBT, said: “I would like to thank Cisco for coming here and for their wonderful support. They have brought some much-needed cheer to the children.”
Lee Coward, Head of IT for UHMBT, said: “Cisco are a strategic technology partner to UHMBT and have supported our digital journey for many years. For Connected Santa, we’ve leveraged the same secure infrastructure normally used to access clinical applications, repurposing it to create a safe and fun experience for children and families. Thanks to everyone at Cisco who gave their time to make this happen!”
Rachel Lomax, Deputy Associate Director of Nursing and Therapies for Children, Young People and Neonates for UHMBT, said: “Thank you so much to Cisco and to our internal team for supporting them to attend. The pictures show just how special it was for the children and families, so we can't thank Cisco enough for their time and generosity!”