More than fifty schoolchildren from New Forest Schools are turning Lymington Hospital into a classroom for the morning on Thursday 2 February.
Pupils from Hordle Primary, Tiptoe Primary and Ashley Junior schools have been invited to the hospital which is run by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust to learn more about healthy lifestyles and how the NHS works.
Staff from Southern Health will be showing the youngsters the MRI scanner on a tour of the hospital as well as teaching them about healthy bones and joints with the Physiotherapy team. They will also get to design a poster and work with the nursing team who help keep bugs and germs at bay and our patients safe.
Behind the days events is a serious purpose. Teachers, doctors and NHS staff want to help improve and maintain the health of our new generation. Helping them to understand more about our bodies and what keeps them healthy will play an important role in their future lives and perhaps those of their children later on.
Catherine Bowell Divisional director for Southern Health said: “It’s essential to build the links for young people between a healthy lifestyle and their long term wellbeing. We want people to feel comfortable with hospitals. It can seem like a daunting place to some people, most don’t have to use them until something is wrong with them. Being able to look around meet staff and see the work that we do might go some way to reducing the anxiety that can exist.”
Nigel Watson is a local GP from New Milton and is very keen for children to understand more about their health: “We’re trying to take a multi-pronged approach to tackling some of the health issues our society faces. Getting it right early on in someone’s life and helping them to understand what makes a healthy lifestyle can only benefit all of us. I think this is a great idea.”
Fiona Adams is Head teacher at Hordle Primary School and is keen for her pupils to learn more about their health: “Learning about being healthy is just as important as many other lessons in life. This trip extends the classroom and helps the children see real life examples of how to pick up good habits.”
The children will be touring the hospital from 09.30am until 12.30pm in hourly slots, which will include seeing the MRI scanner and X-ray machine. They will meet the Physiotherapy team and learn how to use some Physiotherapy equipment. The infection control nursing team will be explaining hand hygiene, using Glo-gel to show up germs, and designing posters with the children. All poster designs will be displayed in the hospital.
January 27 2012
