A merry Covid Christmas! Santa Claus swaps his sleigh for a cherry picker as he visits young patients through the windows at children’s hospital in Leeds
- Santa Claus appeared at the windows of patients at Leeds Children’s Hospital
- Instead of his sleigh Santa used a cherry picker to wave hello through windows
- BAM Construction company teamed up with hospital to make the magic happen
Santa Claus swapped his sleigh for a cherry-picker today as he scaled the outside of a four-storey Children’s hospital to wish the young patients inside a merry Christmas.
Children on the inpatient wards at Leeds Children’s Hospital watched as Father Christmas paid a Covid-safe visit to the Tier 3 hospital using the special vehicle, after restrictions prevented him visiting the wards inside.
Staff at the hospital said the visit brought ‘lots of smiles to those brave little faces’ of the children, many of whom will be in hospital over Christmas.
A special moment of Christmas cheer is shared through the window as Santa Claus waves to baby Emma at Leeds Children’s Hospital today
Safely strapped onto the cherry picker and with a megaphone in hand Father Christmas shared his Christmas cheer with those inside the hospital, as an elf operated the machinery.
When safely back on the ground he stopped outside a door of the hospital to have a socially distanced chat with several young patients, including Darcie Jones, eight, and Ellis Harkin.
The hospital teamed up with the BAM Construction company to arrange the special event after Covid-19 meant that access was restricted to the wards of the hospital.
Laura Whelan, deputy head of nursing at the hospital, said: ‘Being in hospital at Christmas is hard for our young patients, but our team pulls out all the stops to make it as fun as possible.
A handy elf was seen operating the cherry picker whilst Santa waved to staff and baby Emma
In another socially distanced interaction Santa Claus kneels outside the building as he speaks to Darcie Jones, eight, through an open doorway at Leeds Children’s Hospital
Santa speaks to Darcie from the doorway after scaling the building with his harness on
Santa speaks to Ellis Harkin through the doorway as he explains why he’s wearing the harness over his signature red outfit
‘This year, we’ve had to think really creatively about how we can keep the Christmas magic alive and, with the help of our charities and supporters, we have had some fantastic virtual activities for patients to get involved in.
‘Having Santa visit from the outside really is the icing on the cake and will bring lots of smiles to these brave little faces.
‘We can’t thank BAM Construction enough for their help.’
Last December, the children’s hospital, which is one of the largest in the country and provides specialist care for children from across the north of England, saw 6,927 children and young people as outpatients, with nearly 2,000 having a day case procedure or inpatient stay.
The hospital teamed up with the BAM Construction company to arrange the special cherry picker visit (pictured)