Bristol nurses appeal for decorations to brighten patients' Christmas

NURSES are appealing for Christmas decorations to brighten up the festive period for cancer patients in Bristol.

The staff on ward 61 at Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre want to decorate the room to cheer up people who will be staying in hospital over Christmas.

Decorations appeal: Tara Shine and Carolyne Lewis, front, with fellow nurses Charlotte Powell, Debbie Jenkins, Jenny Clay, Karla Gant, Kim Shackell, Jane Hobbs, Leigh Collins and Gemma Gregory

Senior staff nurse Gemma Gregory said more young people with families were having to spend the festive period in hospital and wanted to make the inpatient ward more cheery.

She said: "Our Christmas decorations every year are just terrible and we are having more and more people staying in over Christmas, including more young people who are having treatments right the way through, and we want to brighten the place up, but we can't afford to do it.

"We hope that businesses and shops will be able to help us because the decorations were shameful last year. We want the place to look nice for them so they can enjoy themselves as much as they can."

Patients on the 32-bed unit tend to be having chemotherapy and radiotherapy or palliative care. Emergency cases also stay on ward 61.

Gemma said it was likely there would be about 22 patients staying in over Christmas. She is looking for items they can hang from the ceiling and on the walls, and maybe some small artificial Christmas trees.

Anyone who can help, the Bristol ward is asked to contact 928 2406 between 9am and 1pm.