Curtains go up on new hospital cinema
Our new charity-funded MediCinema has officially opened at the Children’s Hospital - with patients treated to an exclusive preview of Disney and Pixar’s latest film Hoppers at the event.
Patient Ella Lowton-Smith, aged 10, from Atherstone in Warwickshire, and her mum Becky were one of the first people to step inside the transformed lecture theatre.
The red carpet was rolled out for patients attending the opening who were greeted by iconic duo Mickey and Minnie, which added to their excitement.
Following the screening, each patient left with a special gift from Disney to take back to their bedside, along with lifelong memories made.
Becky, said: “We’ve been in hospital for just over two weeks. It’s really tough for Ella to be away from home and from her little sister Olivia, so to have somewhere they can go and spend time together, away from the bedside, is so special.”
Ella has been a heart patient at our hospital since birth, having her first surgery at just five-days-old, after she was diagnosed with truncus arteriosus, a serious defect in which only one blood vessel leads out of the heart, instead of two.
She’s currently in the hospital after an infection in the heart has left her needing an urgent course of antibiotics, which must be administered as an inpatient.
Becky added: “Ella is also a massive movie fan and we love going to the cinema as a family. We’ve been following the progress of the MediCinema for some time now, so to be here for the first screening is amazing. She’s been so excited about it and I know she’ll talk about it for weeks. We’re due to be in hospital for another three weeks while the infection clears, so I’m sure we’ll be back again to watch another film.”
It features 84 purpose-made, movie-style seats and is designed specially to accommodate wheelchairs and will screen the latest films at no cost to the patients or the NHS.
Daljit Athwal, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer at our Trust, said: “To see the excitement on the faces of the children at the screening was pure magic. The MediCinema is already making a massive difference.
“We know lengthy stays in hospital can impact an entire family’s physical and mental health, with patients often feeling isolated from their parents, siblings and friends. This often affects their overall wellbeing and recovery. Our MediCinema will help change that and we feel so privileged to be able to provide this opportunity for our children.”
Mark Brider, CEO of Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “To see the ‘curtain go up’ on our new MediCinema is simply incredible. For our children to be transported from their clinical surroundings into a space where they can forget about being a patient for a short while, enjoying the latest Disney release with their family, is a gamechanger for every child’s experience at our hospital.
“We’re so very grateful to all our donors who really understood the impact our the facility will have on our patients and families and gave so generously to make it a reality.”
Paul Giggal, Chief Operating Officer at MediCinema, said: “We are thrilled to open our latest MediCinema in this prestigious hospital, our first serving the Midlands community. Cinema has an extraordinary ability to transport and comfort us and we see the difference our shared screen experience makes to patients and their families in hospitals every day. We are very grateful to everyone who has donated and are looking forward to working closely with the hospital and its staff to ensure that as many patients as possible here can benefit.”
It will be led by a Cinema Manager with MediCinema nurses and volunteers trained specifically to help run the service.
The creation of the facility was made possible thanks to support from the MediCinema Charity’s Trust and corporate supporters, the Julia Rausing Trust and The Walt Disney Company, and £400,000 from our charity’s visionary network of Changemakers – made up of some of the region’s top business leaders, companies and entrepreneurs, plus further contributions from the public.
As well as funds to cover the build of the cinema, the £1 million fundraising appeal target included the local running costs for the first 12 months. To ensure our hospital can provide magical experiences for patients and families for years to come – at no cost to them or the NHS – our charity will continue to fundraise for this invaluable space.
The MediCinema will mainly run screenings for patients during evenings and weekends, while remaining available as a place for staff training and education during the day.
To find out more about the hospital’s MediCinema, or to donate to its ongoing fund, please visit the appeal page.