How to Move a Hospital part 3

Plans are now getting underway for the building of the new Sick Kids Hospital at Little France, starting this Autumn. You can watch a 'fly through' here of what it will be like. Meanwhile, a Primary 4 class at Preston Street School have contributed some ideas about the old hospital, who is feeling a bit worse for wear, and her journey to the south of the City.  

PJ Bear knew he had to do something. He stood in the car park and faced the poorly Hospital.

‘You’ve already been here for one hundred and eighteen years. Maybe you need a change,’ said PJ Bear. ‘I’ve heard about a place called Little France. We could all go there. You’ll get better.’

‘France?’ the Hospital muttered. ‘Is it over the sea?’

 'Let’s ask someone,’ said PJ Bear. He wandered off and found a traffic warden.

 ‘Little France is only three miles that way’, she said, pointing.

The Meadows stretched out their green lawns and sighed. ‘We’re going to miss you,’ they said.

All the windows of Sciennes Primary School next door steamed up with tears. 

The Hospital looked towards Little France. And then she began to move. 

The children, came up with some delightful illustrated stories telling what happened next. In one of my favourite episodes, PJ Bear summons millions of seagulls to the Hospital's roof.

He attached them one by one until finally he was ready. 

'Fly seagulls, fly,' said PJ Bear. 

The seagulls would not move. 

'I think you need to speak to them in seagull language,' said Sick Kids.

'But I do not know seagull language.'

'Let me try. Car, car, car, car,' said Sick Kids.

And they flew. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 Realising that the Hospital would have to come right past their School, the children also told us how the school might help out. Here they are, side by side, the school on the right with its lovely tower.

In this version of the story, the Hospital launches herself into the air, but needs a bit more help with directions...

And in this one, the two buildings are sisters who haven't seen each other for a long time

By the time she arrives at Little France, the Hospital's feeling an awful lot better, and everyone, including PJ Bear, seems to be happy!

Mammoths on the Move!

Edinburgh folk will probably know that the National Museum of Scotland have a 'Mammoths of the Ice Age' exhibition on at the moment. It's rather exciting, not least because you can find out how small you might feel standing next to one (they could reach the same size as a Lothian Double Decker bus!).

The NMS has given the Sick Kids a Trunki of Mammoth resources for use by play staff and by Cate and me. We made a start yesterday with 11 year old Maria from Ward 3 who drew a character called MoMo (above) who operates a bus service for children from the Hospital across the Meadows to the Museum! 

Here is Maria's lovely story!

Buzzy Bee

There's a small device called a Buzzy that's used in the hospital to help with pain relief. When he's put on the skin, he vibrates and this together with cold numb the area. And when put between the source of the pain and the nerve pathway to the brain, nerves get confused and there's distraction from the pain. It's often used for young patients who have to have regular injections for example for arthritis.

He's a friendly looking wee chap already but we've made a little postcard poem for the children to take home with them to make him seem even more friendly.

How to move a hospital part 2

You may remember that a while ago, Cate and I asked for ideas about how the poor old hospital would move to its new home at Little France. We got so many different ideas which you can see here. Now Cate has put them all together in this big picture which will hang on the wall next to the hospital pharmacy, just outside Ward Four. Do go and have a look.

 

Also if you pick up a copy of PJ News you’ll get this outline of the picture for children to colour in. Handy for waiting rooms!

The Hospital’s journey continues, and we went to ask some primary four children at Preston Street School for their ideas about how the hospital would find the way when she arrives outside their school, more or less at a crossroads. They had all sorts of wonderful ideas including what the school and hospital would say to each other. You may notice the similarity in the look of the two buildings and they were built almost exactly at the same time, so, as some of the pupils told us, perhaps they are sisters!

 

We are looking forward to returning to the school next week to hear the stories the children have made up about what happens next on the journey.

We are Three Camels

Rather belatedly here's myself, Noah and Hannah at the Sick Kids Carols for Christmas after performing the poem we composed together. Here's the first verse:

We are three camels               (L N H)

one-humped animals      (L N H)

looking after three wise chaps        (L)

who didn’t even bring a map   (N)

they’ve got frankincense         (L)

but no common sense                     (N)

they’ve got myrrh and gold     (L)

but I’m getting cold                  (H)

We’re wandering, wondering where we are    (L)

and why they didn’t come by car     (N)

Is it very far?                   (H)

Sparks the Unlit Lamp - our prototype story book

We're excited to have the prototype of the first one in a bunch of stories about characters in the Hospital.
The first is Sparks, upset because owing to a sunlit summer, no one seem to need him. His attempts to get his friends to help him block Windy the window's light aren't that successful... until..!

We'll be trying the book out on willing readers in the next weeks so let us know if you'd like us to call on a  particular ward.

Postcard Book

Hot off the press is a little bound book of 'postcards' capturing twenty samples of poems, drawings, stories created in the Hospital during the 'All Write' project. We're very proud of it! It will be available in the shop in exchange for a donation.