Christmas at the Trust 2022
22 December 2022
Staff have been celebrating the return of festive activities and bringing joy to patients and their colleagues.
We have been celebrating Christmas with a range of events and activities throughout our Trust. After several years of pandemic disruption, staff, patients, and visitors have welcomed the return of the festivities.
Here’s what we’ve been up to:
12 Days of Christmas
Over the course of 12 days, we’ve spotlighted some incredible teams from across the Trust to find out about the amazing work they do.
The big Christmas tree switch-on
The Trust community came together for mince pies, music, and merriment as we switched on the lights with some surprise special guests.
At Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Wed 7 Dec 2022, Chelsea Pensioner Paul Whittick thanked staff for all that they do to care for residents of Royal Hospital Chelsea, and for the care staff give to all our patients. CEO Lesley Watts picked a special helper from the crowd to switch on the lights—a big thank you to Baden.
Our Imperial medical student choir performed carols, and mince pies and non-alcoholic mulled wine were served by our fantastic volunteers.
At West Middlesex University Hospital on Thu 8 Dec 2022, the talented children of Springwell School performed carols, and Mayor of London Borough of Hounslow Raghwinder Sidhu welcomed the crowd and thanked staff, before setting a great example by getting his flu jab to protect himself and others.
Sustainable Christmas decorating competition
This year, we challenged teams to be as sustainable as possible, and only use recycled or reused materials to decorate their wards and departments, trying not to buy anything new.
Every team and department embraced the sustainable theme, with homemade and recycled decorations. The competition was judged by our executive team, who were very impressed by the creativity and resourcefulness put into transforming wards and offices into a cheery Christmas wonderland for patients.
Congratulations to the winners:
- West Mid winner—Theatres, Day Surgery
- West Mid runner up—Adult ICU
- Chelsea winner—Clinical Trials Office
- Chelsea runner up—Paediatrics Physiotherapy
Lip sync competition
We set out to find our Trust’s next lip sync superstar, and send us a video of a lip sync performance to a classic Christmas song. The competition was fierce—congratulations to the winners, the Treatment Centre team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, who performed a rendition of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas’. A special shout out to the Theatres team at West Middlesex University Hospital who came a close second.
On Thursday 8 December, two very busy teams united for a moment of festive fun. The Pharmacy and Receipts and Distribution teams at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital got fiercely competitive with their jumper competition—congratulations to Darshan who won Best Jumper 2022.
A big Christmas thank you from our famous friends
A number of well-known friends of the Trust have given messages of thanks to our staff, wishing them a very merry Christmas. Many of these individuals have had direct experience of our services and are immensely grateful for the difference our staff by giving exceptional care.