The paediatrics wing at Oldham Hospital has received a grant for teddies to help young children feel comforted when receiving care.

Royal Oldham Hospital Paediatrics Accident and Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, providing care for children requiring emergency observation and assessment by the paediatrics team.

The department helps children from areas across Oldham, Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale.

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A hospital visit can be a frightening experience for a young child but an initiative, Teddies for the Loving Care, seeks to soothe youngsters by providing unique cuddly bears to A&E departments.

Medical staff can give the cuddly toys to young children to help calm them down and reduce any shock or distress they may be experiencing.

The teddies can also be used to reward children for being brave.

Eastern Area Assistant charity steward, Russ Perks, submitted an application to the ELMC for a 'teddies for loving care' grant and visited the department on May 23 with Andy Halford, Eastern Area chairman and Andy Powell, area web designer, to deliver the teddies.

Russ said: "We were welcomed into the department by the staff.

"The staff said how these teddies will help them to calm down young children who are upset and how one of these teddies had been given to her niece at another hospital for a reward of being brave when blood was being taken.

"She still has her little teddy to this day and is grateful to have been thought of in receiving the bear.

"Also big thank you to both the ELMC and Eastern Area Freemasons for their kind generosity." 

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