Family fun day celebrates Evelina London patients

Dr Ranj and Chris & Pui from CBeebies enjoying the day

Children whose lives have been saved by the Children’s Air Ambulance and Evelina London Children’s Hospital celebrated at a party in Lambeth Palace Gardens.

CBeebies star and TV presenter Dr Ranj, who also works as a paediatrician at Evelina London, led the entertainment with a special guest appearance from CBeebies presenters Chris & Pui.

There were also performances from Chris the magician, Elsa from Frozen and 14-year-old soprano, Katie Marshall, at the special event on Saturday 2 July.

Open to all children and families and attended by around 3,000 people, the event provided a host of fun activities such as facepainting, tombola and hook a duck. Families also had the opportunity to explore the South Thames Retrieval Service ambulance and the Children’s Air Ambulance helicopter.

Hosted in the magnificent Lambeth Palace Gardens, families had the opportunity to explore the grounds which are usually open to the public only four times a year.

Hundreds of children have been saved by the Children’s Air Ambulance and Evelina London. Alfie Stacey from West Sussex, who is now 18 months old, was just nine months old when he developed severe breathing difficulties and had to be placed on a ventilator. His local hospital advised that he needed specialist care at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, 60 miles away. The transfer by helicopter took just 15 minutes and Alfie was soon receiving the treatment he urgently needed in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Evelina London.

Marian Ridley, Director of Evelina London, said: “The party was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and bring together families whose children’s lives have been saved with the medical and nursing teams who work so tirelessly to make a difference.

“The South Thames Retrieval Service, an emergency transport service based at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, specialises in the inter-hospital transfer of critically ill children between 25 local hospitals and three specialist centres like our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. We work closely with Children’s Air Ambulance and together, make sure very ill babies and children who need urgent care are treated as quickly as possible.

“I’m very grateful to the team who organised the event and everyone who volunteered or donated on the day. We would also like to say a big thank you to our very special neighbours at Lambeth Palace for making this possible.”