Curtains Go Up On Our New MediCinema

We were so excited to invite 10-year-old patient Ella Lowton-Smith, from Atherstone in Warwickshire, and other young patients, to officially unveil our new charitably-funded MediCinema, where they were treated to an exclusive preview of the new Disney and Pixar film “Hoppers”, ahead of its national cinema release.

The creation of the new, fully accessible, 84-seat MediCinema – the largest MediCinema in the UK – follows a £1m fundraising appeal by our charity and MediCinema. The MediCinema creates a space where patients and families, who sometimes spend weeks and months in hospital, can spend quality time together away from the wards, providing meaningful respite, reducing feelings of isolation, anxiety and stress and providing some normality during what can be challenging times. The MediCinema will screen the latest films at no cost to the patients or the NHS.

The red carpet was rolled out for patients at the MediCinema’s ‘premiere’ opening screening of Disney and Pixar’s all-new feature film “Hoppers”. Upon arrival, the children were greeted by iconic duo Mickey and Minnie, which added to their excitement. The magic continued inside as patients enjoyed additional entertainment before ‘‘Hoppers’’ began. Following the screening, each patient left with a special gift from Disney to take back to their bedside, along with lifelong memories made.

Ella was one of those patients in attendance. Ella has been a heart patient at our hospital since birth, having her first surgery at just five-days-old, after she was diagnosed with truncus arteriosus, a serious defect in which only one blood vessel leads out of the heart, instead of two. The surgery involved adding a tube to separate the blood flow. She had follow up surgery at 18 months and is due to have further surgery later this year to replace the tube that was added at birth. She’s currently in the hospital after an infection in the heart has left her needing an urgent course of antibiotics, which must be administered as an inpatient.  

Her mum, Becky, said: “We’ve been in hospital for just over two weeks. It’s really tough for Ella to be away from home and from her little sister Olivia, so to have somewhere they can go and spend time together, away from the bedside, is so special.

“Ella is also a massive movie fan and we love going to the cinema as a family. We’ve been following the progress of the MediCinema for some time now, so to be here for the first screening is amazing. She’s been so excited about it and I know she’ll talk about it for weeks. We’re due to be in hospital for another three weeks while the infection clears, so I’m sure we’ll be back again to watch another film.”

Daljit Athwal, chief nursing and midwifery officer at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “To see the excitement on the faces of the children at the screening was pure magic. The MediCinema is already making a massive difference.

“We know lengthy stays in hospital can impact an entire family’s physical and mental health, with patients often feeling isolated from their parents, siblings and friends. This often affects their overall wellbeing and recovery. Our MediCinema will help change that and we feel so privileged to be able to provide this opportunity for our children.” 

Photography by Shaun Fellows / Shine Pix Ltd.