How to move a Hospital part 3

In the story we're creating about the move of the hospital between Sciennes and Little France (more here), we've got the old and ailing sandstone building as far as Cameron Toll. All the shops at the Mall try to give her a hand on her way towards the new site. Children in the hospital created some shops and told us how they and their contents could help. Cate put them together in a lovely picture and I wrote a poem with the children's ideas. Here they are:

The Hospital Parade

At Cameron Toll

the shops lend a hand:

a music shop provides

a jangly, loud band

to lead the Hospital parade

in a long caterpillar

with a precisely-penned map

towards Craigmillar.

The hospital gets repaired

with lego and loom-bands

the get well gift shop gives her

flowers and perfumed bags.

Out come the cupcakes

and curious cats

the bike shop sends a Giant

the pet shop, mice and rats

who with high-speed hamsters

on their exercise wheels

burrow under the hospital

and begin to spin a reel.

Powered by panting rodents              

the hospital and patrol

pull away from the shopping centre

now known as Cameron Roll.

If you're in the hospital you can now see all three parts of the journey so far on the wall between the main entrance and Ward Four. Here's Cate having a look at them.

Our next stop on the journey to Little France is Craigmillar Castle from where the new hospital site can be seen. And building has already started!

We'll be going to the Castle next week with some families from the hospital to Imagine how an ancient castle might advise a hospital who is about to transform into something very new. But we've already had a few ideas from seven-year-old Eva in Ward 3. We told her about all the unicorns on the crests in the castle, and then we showed her our own unicorn above the Hospital main entrance. She did us a lovely drawing of both and then got them talking to each other.

How to give an elephant an X-ray

What do you think an elephant's skeleton looks like? As the X-ray machines at the Sick Kids aren't quite big enough to fit an elephant in, we settled for some drawing activities in the radiology waiting room, with some interesting and varied results! A piece of acetate over Cate's outline drawing was all we needed.

Here's some of them, two-by-two. Which do you think is most accurate?

Some elephants were given names and ailments, such as Ellie who finds that after her sore jaw has been x-rayed and treated..

Now her poor sore jaw

is as good as new

and the grass and leaves

she can chew, chew, chew.

Valentine's day at the Sick Kids

It's become customary for Cate and me to offer some activities for Valentine's Day. This year, we had a card-making stall outside the radiology department. Some lovely things were made by children, parents and junior doctors (for the weekend shift taking over from them!) who were enticed in on their way past.

We also produced a ready-made card, available in the Hospital shop.

Some of the postcards in our postcard book - available from the Hospital shop in return for a donation - feature past Valentine's projects. Remember the story of our favourite match-maker amongst the Whatsits, Stephanie the Stethoscope?

Creaky boilers and pink thread

Cate and I have been enjoying some forays into the Sick Kids' past via the Lothian Health Services Archive held in the University of Edinburgh library. If you go back 100 years or so, the documents themselves are fascinating, penned in beautiful copperplate handwriting on crisp cream paper. Even the simplest messages are committed to paper and put in the mail: 'May I call on you tomorrow afternoon?' Today we would just send a text.

On our last visit we chose to look at documents from 1895, being the year that the hospital moved into the current site at Rillbank. There were piles of detailed specifications handwritten by the architects George Washington Browne, and stitched together in thick documents with pink thread. Then in reply came tenders from ironmongers, glaziers, plumbers and builders, and suppliers of equipment -- cots, mattresses, fire grates, lift doors, heating apparatus, the furnishing of the board room. Some of the items mentioned are still there, and I particularly enjoyed the £43 estimate for the carving of the Royal Arms over the entrance hall from messrs Beattie and Hay.

The minute books of committee meetings give witness to complex plans for the moving the hospital. There were complaints about delays in the delivery of an ironing machine, and a very prolonged exchange of letters with the boiler fitters from London. In the initial months after the hospital's opening in late November, there were complaints about both certain wards being far too cold and yet the stoking of the boilers creating such heat locally that it cracked plaster and fuelled concern about the danger to the building by fire. Finally in June 1896, the company agreed: 'we are most anxious to settle the matter in a friendly spirit', agreeing to put in a new boiler of greater capacity and coat the basement pipes with plaster. The correspondence was still going on in August 96. During the current cold snap, we're all aware of the vulnerability of our boilers and think of this going on on the scale of a hospital must've been a great worry.

Finally the minutes deal with plans for the opening ceremony with Princess Beatrice attending. Invites were issued to 400 guests and because the hospital wasn't properly occupied until late November, a party of convalescent children were brought in for the ceremony on 31st October. Reducing the number of patients prior to removal to Rillbank was also discussed. 

As plans begin to be realised for the next move of the hospital to Little France, it's interesting to reflect on the similarities and differences that 120 years make to such a process. I'm pretty sure there won't be many hand written bundles of paper stitched together with pink thread!

More from the archives here

Christmas short story in the Scotsman 20th December 2014: Do They Know it's Christmas?

You can read the short story here written by Linda and illustrated by Cate.  

Set in Edinburgh’s Sick Kids, this heart-warming seasonal tale tells of a hospital cleaner’s interest in the Ebola crisis, a seemingly lonely young girl, and the connections his kindness enables.

The Whatsits arrive for Book Week Scotland!

With Book Week Scotland from 24th to 30th November, come the first three books in our series concerning the 'Whatsits', characters you're sure to meet around Edinburgh 'Sick Kids' who have a life of their own.

There is Sparks, who gets upset in the summer months when no one seems to need him and has to ask the other Whatsits to help him stop the sun shining through the ward windows; Cathy who is very keen to make friends and be helpful, but gets overlooked because she is quiet and small (and has a reputation for scratching); and Edward who is retiring once his patient gets well to a basement storeroom which might just be a bit dark.

For the first chance to come and meet them, see the side bar on 'Workshops'. All three books are available from the 24th in the Hospital shop and there are copies in every ward playroom.

Don't Forget!: Write a poem or read a poem for National Poetry Day 2nd October

Since I've been writer in residence at the 'Sick Kids',we've always done some special activities for National Poetry Day which have become much more visual since Cate James joined as illustrator. Last year the theme was 'Water' (see the post here). This year, it's 'Remember'. It's a rich theme as we found when memories of the hospital inspired a poem from a member of staff just recently, see here. 

In preparation for next week, we thought of elephants and their long memories, and asked a few children to compose a poem with us about an elephant character who doesn't forget something. Here's one from four year old Casey about Elvis the Elephant (a good dancer by the sound of things).

Another lovely poem this week, without the memory theme, came from 8 year old Katie who created a rabbit we're hoping will inhabit some foresty decorations on ward 2. She had a lot of fun drawing her and finding some great-sounding words to describe her. Congratulations, Katie, we've made this our 'Scribble of the Month'!

If you'd like to celebrate National Poetry Day, or poetry on any day really, there's some great ideas of what to do and resources on the Scottish Poetry Library's website.