Our work is child’s play

THE Puffin ward in the children’s unit, Cork University Hospital, (CUH) is busy.

Curtains are drawn tightly around beds as medics complete their rounds, a nurse rejigs the staff schedule, and a Thomas the Tank Engine meal trolley stands in the corridor, to serve dinners to the children of the 78-bed unit. A little girl in multi-coloured pyjamas hurries past holding a board game, determined to reach the playroom before it closes for the evening.

Grace Mullane, 7, has cystic fibrosis (CF) and frequents the playroom, which is run by the Children in Hospital (CHI) volunteers.