Taking the pain out of waiting for hospital appointments in Bristol

People with false limbs have a new distraction while they are waiting for appointments at Southmead Hospital, after a computer firm donated a games console.

The Xbox has been set up in the waiting room in the Disablement Services Centre at the hospital, where people go to have their prosthetic limbs fitted and adjusted.

They can sometimes have a long wait because the false limbs may need tweaking and adjusting.

Representatives from Microsoft installed the games console in the waiting room, along with another at the Barbara Russell Children's Unit at Frenchay, as part of their work to support the community.

Receptionist Helen Pow contacted the company for help as she sees the youngsters who come in for appointments and thought it would be an ideal distraction for them while they are waiting.

Among the patients who will benefit from the donation are 13-year-old Billie-Jo Higgs, who tried out some of the games.

Her mother's appendix burst while she was pregnant and, as a result, the youngster did not develop properly and she was missing some of the bones in her leg when she was born.

The teenager, of Gloucester, has been attending the centre at Southmead since she had her amputations – one above the knee and one below – at 15 months old and she has had to return about every six months since.

Mum Trina said: "Billie-Jo does everything; horse-riding, swimming, riding her bike.

"And she has won a medal for her courage."

Billie-Jo said: "It's really good that they have the Xbox, as it is more for me to do when I come here.

"If I have got to have legs fixed I can be here for hours and this will stop me getting bored."

Clinical manager for prosthetics, Stephen Andrews, said: "Patients can be here for one to three hours because there is a lot of complicated work to be done on the artificial limbs.

"If we are fitting a new prosthesis, we may need to go back into the workshop and there will be a period of time when patients are waiting for a limb to come back with nothing to do.

"We have got about 100 children on our books and they need to come in quite regularly because they grow."

Group manager for Microsoft UK, Andy Gitsham, said: "Microsoft encourages community work for all its staff.

"This particular cause was brought to my attention, and myself and some of the other engineers in the UK became quite passionate about it."