Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust

We had a special visit recently from Birmingham Royal Ballet 🩰 After the Nutcracker performed its final show of 2024 in Birmingham, the dancers kindly visited our cancer wards to bring some festive cheer to our young patients and families. There were lots of smiles on faces as the ballerinas, including the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker, performed some ballet and took some time to meet our inspiring patients. Thank you to BRB for visiting us ❤️

The twin boys are back in town 💙 Former Children’s Hospital inpatients Jenson and Grayson made a return visit to have a sing-song at our Christmas Carol concert, visit the wards they stayed on and say hi to some of our amazing nurses and chaplaincy team. We caught up with their mum Lindsay to reflect on their journey since their christening in our chapel in 2021: https://orlo.uk/rqk7Z

The festive period is a time for celebration with friends and family, but it can also be a time of reflection and sadness for others. As part of the pioneering Blue Christmas project, our Multi-Faith and Belief Chaplaincy team will be reaching out to families who've suffered a bereavement over the last 12 months to offer support and comfort💙 A series of videos, available on our website, aim to offer to help understanding and offer strength. Find out more about Blue Christmas in talk BWC: https://orlo.uk/OFTOO

With Christmas Day just a few sleeps away we're reflecting on a truly wonderful December at our Children's Hospital, all made possible by all of our brilliant Magic Makers. Over the last three weeks over 300 individuals have volunteered their time at our Grotto, transforming into Santa and his Elves and handing out around 500 gifts to our brave patients and their families every day, which really is an incredible number! Thank you to each and everyone of you, including our final Magic Makers; JLR, Kier Group, Davisons Law, DLA Piper Attraction World Group | AWG, Datapath, PM Group, JLL, Lounge, Prologis UK, Arch Insurance (UK) Limited, Facilitate Search and House Of Cavani

Our footballer visits are always a highlight in our Christmas calendar and this afternoon we were excited to welcome Birmingham City FC to our hospital. A number of the players turned out to meet families and colleagues and deliver some special Christmas gifts to our sick kids to provide some much appreciated distraction from their surroundings and treatment. We can't thank the team enough for helping to make Christmas magical at our hospital. The smiles on the faces of everyone they met were priceless and the memories will stay with our families for a long time to come.

This is your place to work alongside colleagues from every discipline and walk of life, who grow together, united in our pride for what we do. We're looking for a Senior Theatre Practitioner to join our Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Birmingham Women's Hospital. If you are looking to join a friendly, skilled team who are making a life-changing impact on women in Birmingham, then head to our website and scroll down to find out more: https://orlo.uk/oVE1E

This time last week we'd just wrapped up another fantastically festive Jolly Jumper Day. This year over 57 brilliant businesses signed up to do their bit in their festive kit, with teams across the Midlands and beyond donning Christmas jumpers, holiday headgear and other seasonal accessories to support our patients. We're so grateful to everyone of you for taking part, for helping us make our hospitals magical for patients who are too poorly to be at home and for sending in your Jolly Jumper snaps. Here are just a few highlights. Same again next year?

Exciting news🎉 Over 90 primary and secondary schools across Birmingham will now benefit from mental health workshops, thanks to a partnership between Forward Thinking Birmingham and Compass. The service will provide wellbeing support to children in schools, with the aim of preventing young people from developing mental health issues in the future. We spoke to students at Saltley Academy in Birmingham about what they thought of the workshops and why learning about mental health is so important. Watch on our Trust YouTube channel (link in the comments⬇️)

The Christmas period is one of the busiest of the year and can often mean breaking from your usual routine and attending more social gatherings, meaning it can be a bit overwhelming. For those living with a mental health condition, the lead-up to Christmas can be quite daunting, so in our December edition of talk BWC, we're sharing some top tips from our experts for coping, and sharing where you can go for support - even on Christmas day.💙 Download your free edition of talk BWC to find out more: https://orlo.uk/JxmA2

🎄 Festive seasons can be an especially challenging time for those navigating eating disorders, with an increased focus on food, social gatherings, and family dynamics. 📽️ This video is a collaboration between Forward Thinking Birmingham and Toucan (the West Midlands CAMHS Provider Collaborative). Together, we're sharing some helpful tips. https://lnkd.in/eSEYyGMs