Visitors to the Kingfisher Ward at the Local Care Centre in Plymouth might have noticed some slightly smaller (and nosier) volunteers over the past few weeks.
Reception class children from nearby Salisbury Road Primary School have been spending their afternoons with patients to help them on their road to recovery.
Kingfisher is rehabilitation ward run by Livewell Southwest, the social enterprise which provides Plymouth’s health and care services.
As part of the visits, the children and patients bonded over outdoor games and gardening, dance lessons, painting, mindfulness sessions and learning basic CPR skills.
The innovative pilot intergenerational project is the first of its kind to be based on a hospital ward, and it’s been such a success for both groups, that matron Emma Wilkinson plans to keep it going.
Emma was supported by social worker for the ward Teresa Barrett, who organised most of the activities and spent the afternoons overseeing the patients and children.
Emma said: “We started the pilot with the intention to help boost the wellbeing of our patients who are usually elderly and quite frail.
“Some of them don’t have family nearby so it’s been a wonderful opportunity for them to have visitors and the bonds that have been formed between the patients and children have been so heart-warming to see.”
Carole is one of the patients who the project has made a real impact on. She was on kingfisher during the first two weeks of the project and visited again on the last day to say goodbye to the children.
The 79-year-old had been at Kingfisher for a couple of weeks following a stay at Derriford.
“I was here for the first two weeks of the children being on the ward,” she said.
“I had been feeling really down when I first came into the ward but the children really lifted my spirits.
“They were such angels; it used to brighten up my day knowing that they would be coming to spend their afternoons with us. I really looked forward to doing activities with them and I love the cuddles they’d give us when they came running in.
“I had been through an awful period but thanks to the staff at Kingfisher I’m now home and walking again. I think this project has been amazing and I hope it can help other patients like me.”
The children started off each afternoon eating their lunch with the patients before beginning that day’s activities.
Four-year-old Mya said she really enjoyed the singing and dancing and making new friends.
Mum Siow Chin Chin added: “I think it’s been a really great thing to do. Mya hasn’t stopped talking about it at home, she has really enjoyed it.”
While the aim was to boost wellbeing and help the patient’s with their rehab goals, the project was also a way of giving back to the local community.
Emma said: “Livewell is a social enterprise so there’s a lot of emphasis on giving back to our local communities and working closely with them.
“We now have fantastic established links with the school and already have plans to look at how we can continue this to benefit not just our patients but the children too.”
Ciara Moran, executive headteacher at Salisbury Road Primary School added: “This has been a really positive experience for the children and they’ve not stopped talking about their afternoons when back at school.
“This project has really supported their academic and personal development by creating an authentic opportunity for them to spend time with people outside of their friendship circle and helping towards their awareness of the world around them.
“It’s been so positive for the children and their parents and has given them something exciting to talk about each evening.
“Emma and the team have been so thoughtful when thinking of activities, it has been wonderful.”
MP Luke Pollard and Plymouth City councillor Kate Taylor visited the ward to learn more about the project and praised the initiative.
Mr Pollard said: “It’s just incredible. Plymouth is doing some really inspirational work around Dementia care and the most incredible thing is how we can get these generations together to understand the care challenges and just to create conversation.
“Seeing the patients and the kids interacting together has been wonderful and shows that this has been well worth doing.”
