Children's seaside scenes

If you go up to the children's anaesthetic room at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, you could be in for a big surprise. The whole room has been transformed into a colourful beach scene with the help of the award-winning artist Hannah Giffard.

The project has been funded from donations to the NNUH Hospital Arts Project, which aims to provide an interesting and pleasant environment for patients and visitors.

The anaesthetic room is where children are prepared for their operation before being wheeled into theatre. They remain with a parent or carer until the anaesthetic takes effect.

Anaesthetist Dr Kathy Wilkinson commented: “The trip to surgery is a stressful time for both parents and children and we wanted to provide a distraction that would be acceptable to all ages. For the last two years the Theatre 12 team has been working with Emma Jarvis, our Hospital Arts co-ordinator, and the artist Hannah Giffard to provide that distraction – and the results are well worth the wait.

“Already we have had lots of positive comments from parents and children, and from staff and surgeons too. This is another success for Hospital Arts!”

Hannah Giffard is a local artist who created the 'Pablo, The Little Red Fox' children’s books that she later transformed into a BAFTA award-winning TV series.

The quirky characters she created for the anaesthetic room are fixed to the wall with Velcro so they can be moved around for cleaning or painting.

The next stage of the project is to decorate the children’s ward with similar characters using funds from the 'Brighter Future' campaign. Already the windows on Buxton Ward are decorated with beach scenes created by the same artist.

Picture caption: Three-year-old leukaemia patient Billy Morris was one of the first to enjoy the view in the paediatric anaesthetic room. He is pictured with Caroline Banson, an experienced practitioner in Theatres