Countess becomes new patron of children’s hospital (From Wharfedale Observer)
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Countess becomes new patron of children’s hospital
11:00am Sunday 10th February 2013 in Local news
Leeds Children’s Hospital’s new royal patron, the Countess of Wessex, with Bel Young on her last visit
The Countess of Wessex has become the Royal Patron of Leeds Children’s Hospital.
The announcement was made last week by Mike Collier CBE, the outgoing chairman of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, at his final board meeting.
He said: “I am absolutely delighted that Her Royal Highness has accepted our invitation.
“Her patronage will be a huge boost to what is one of the finest children’s hospitals in the country, seeing tens of thousands of young patients from across our region every year.
“Her Royal Highness made a wonderful impression when she visited us last March to declare the Leeds Children’s Hospital open.
“Her obvious interest in the care we provide here, and her warmth and charm when meeting children, parents and staff made this one of the most successful such events we have ever hosted.
“After the visit there was such a buzz of goodwill created in the hospital that it seemed a natural progression to look at ways of carrying on the relationship on a more formal basis.
“We feel proud and honoured that she has decided to choose to be the Royal Patron of Leeds Children’s Hospital.”
Former Ilkley schoolgirl Bel Young, who was seriously injured in a climbing frame accident that left her quadriplegic, was one of the patients the Countess met when she opened the hospital last year. Based at Leeds General Infirmary, the children’s hospital is the result of a £30 million project to bring children’s inpatient facilities together on a single site.
