Heartbeat: Kindness gets kids on the road to recovery

November 28, 2022

In September 2020, children in BMEC were delighted as the department was gifted a mini-Tesla. The donation was from Tesla Owners UK to Your Trust Charity for paediatric patients to make their way to theatres for surgery.

Unfortunately, the steering wheel was damaged on site, and after many attempts to repair it or find a replacement part, the car became unusable.

James Morrissey, Theatre Manager, told us: “Our youngest patients enjoyed using the toy car to drive themselves to surgery. Surgery can be daunting, but somehow the car made it a more fun process, and they enjoyed driving it down to us. Seeing their little faces light up as they got into the car was a joy which is why we were all saddened when we could not organise a repair.

“Not long after joining the department, Kelly Papavarnava, Deputy Group Director of Nursing (Surgical Services), heard about our toy car and set about finding a replacement part with the help of her dad. Much to our amazement, Kelly was able to source a replacement steering wheel from America and got the car repaired.

“This act of kindness means that our youngest patients can now drive themselves down to us to have their surgery. It helps to change what might be a negative experience into a joyous experience for the children in our care. The team and I are all grateful for Kelly’s support. She is, in our opinion, the best example of someone that lives our values and goes above and beyond to enhance the patient experience.”

Kelly told us: “My inspiration was to support the team as they had worked hard to resolve this for the benefit of our paediatric patients. The use of the car is extremely positive and brings some laughter and joy to children at what can be a scary time for them and their parents.”