Santa paid an early visit to The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) this morning to switch on the lights of the huge nine-metre Christmas tree in the hospital’s atrium, Main Street, officially launching Christmas.
Santa spread festive cheer to visitors and reminded patients he’d be at the RCH with bells on on Christmas Day.
The impressive tree will feature in Main Street for the month of December and was lovingly created, designed and donated by the team at Kmart.
Christmas tree designers Dovecote worked with Kmart to develop a number of beautiful designs before the final magnificent signature tree was selected.
Taking nine hours to set up, the tree is whimsically decorated to complement the hospital’s interior design, which draws upon Australian flora and fauna. The tree bursts into song and movement every hour.
Kmart has been donating toys to patients at the RCH through the hospital’s fundraising arm, the RCH Foundation, for almost five years. This year, Kmart has spread Christmas throughout the hospital by supplying over 60 Christmas trees and decorations for wards and family spaces. A team of 70 volunteers from Kmart and Pied Pipers set up the trees last weekend.
Kmart also ensures every patient in the hospital wakes up to a gift at the end of their bed on Christmas morning, and receives another present from Santa.
RCH CEO Professor Christine Kilpatrick said she couldn’t believe it had already been 12 months since patients and staff celebrated the first Christmas in the new hospital.
“We moved on 30 November last year, just in time for the festive period. No sooner had patients settled into their new wards, than the team from Kmart began filling our hospital with Christmas decorations,” Professor Kilpatrick said.
“We work hard to ensure our patients enjoy the best Christmas they can, despite being in hospital. This is made much easier for us thanks to the wonderful support of organisations such as Kmart, Dovecote and the Pied Pipers,” she said.
In the first 12 months since moving to the new hospital, staff at the RCH have performed:
- Australia’s first paediatric intestinal transplant
- 10 heart transplants
- 11 liver transplants
- 209,893 specialist clinic appointments
- 14,630 surgical procedures
The year has also seen 33,930 inpatient stays and 76,225 Emergency presentations at the RCH.