College students create artwork for hospital

Fine Art students from Oldham College have unveiled some artwork created especially for the Children's Ward at The Royal Oldham Hospital.

It's part of a community project between the college and the hospital.

There were big smiles on the faces of both patients and staff as the students unveiled the bright, colourful new artwork in the corridors leading to the Children’s Ward.

The artwork was officially unveiled and given a big seal of approval by Alun Francis, Principal at Oldham College, and Nicola Firth, Chief Officer and Director of Nursing at The Royal Oldham. 

The artwork is the result of months of hard work by the students, who have been regular visitors to the Children’s Ward.

The project started back in October, when the students had to pitch their ideas to the Children’s Ward team and since then, the students and ward staff have worked closely to translate their creative ideas into the artwork that now lines the corridors leading to the unit. The end result is some fantastic, uplifting artwork that catches the eye as soon as you enter the ward.

Mark Smith, Ward Manager on the Children’s Ward, is thrilled with the artwork.

He said: “Working with the fine art students at Oldham College has been a fantastic opportunity for the hospital to build relationships with our local community and we’ve really enjoyed collaborating with the students to create a fantastic new entrance to the ward.

“Our new entrance is so uplifting, colourful and most importantly, child focused. Thank you so much to all the Oldham College students and staff who have been involved with this project. You have all truly made a difference and we couldn’t be happier.”

Nicola Firth, Chief Officer and Director of Nursing at The Royal Oldham, said: “The students have done a phenomenal job creating some brilliant designs and transforming plain, magnolia walls into something inspiring for our youngest patients.

“For us, it’s really important that we bring the local community into the hospital and that we work closely with our local partners like the college. Not only are the students our potential service users; they are also our potential employees of the future and projects like this give them a good insight into how our hospitals operate on a daily basis. We hope they’ve enjoyed the project as much as we’ve loved having them in the hospital every week.”

The students first pitched their ideas to the Children’s Ward team back in October. The team actually struggled to shortlist final designs, as they loved them all – so they decided to give all the students the opportunity to make their mark and leave a lasting legacy at their local hospital.

The community project had the perfect ending when the Children’s Ward team were presented with a cheque for £1,100 by Principal Alun Francis on behalf of the college. Thanks to the students’ fundraising efforts at their Christmas Fayre, they were able to present the hospital team with an amazing donation to help support its youngest patients.

Both the hospital and the college hope that this project is the start of many similar community projects in the future.

Main image:

(from left to right) Royal Oldham Chief Officer and Director of Nursing, Nicola Firth with Oldham College Principal Alun Francis and Fine Art students from Oldham College