Above: Chemo Ducks at the Great North Children’s Hospital
Newcastle Hospitals Charity is proud to have partnered with The Give a Duck Foundation to supply 120 cuddly ‘Chemo Ducks’ and 60 ‘Huggable Hopes’ to the Great North Children’s Hospital. This was made possible by grant funding of £4,500, from our fund, the Great North Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Chemo Duck is designed to support and comfort children going through cancer treatment, and is fitted with medical lines and ports to mirror those of the child. Huggable Hope is a duck for siblings of those in treatment, offering them some additional comfort at a very challenging time for the whole family.
Chemo Duck can also be used to help prepare patients for procedures such as scans and anaesthesia, with hospital staff demonstrating them on Chemo Duck first, before treating the child.
Elaine Dunning, Fundraising Manager at Give a Duck said:
“We spoke with staff on the children’s oncology ward recently, they showed us their mini scanner that they lay Chemo Duck on – they send him through the scanner to make the childrens’ experience less scary. One of their anaesthetists also pretends to put Chemo Duck to sleep before the child.
Above: Chemo Duck demonstrates a scanner
“Chemo Duck is an amazing friend to the children, and everything that they experience Chemo Duck experiences it first alongside them. Although we can never change a diagnosis, or an outcome, Chemo Duck supports every child on the toughest journey of their young lives.”
Jon Goodwin, Head of Grant Programmes at Newcastle Hospitals Charity said:
“We’re always looking for partnerships with other organisations that will benefit our patients at Newcastle Hospitals and, in this case, our youngest patients at the Great North Children’s Hospital. The Chemo Ducks are a wonderful way to help make the hospital experience less distressing for these children and their families at such a difficult time, and we are proud to have been able to support this initiative.”
Images courtesy of The Give a Duck Foundation.
