Mother creates Hey Duggee artwork to thank children’s team who cared for her son at Sunderland Royal Hospital

A grateful mother whose young son was looked after by hospital staff has created a special artwork inspired by children’s TV favourite Hey Duggee to say thank you.

Hannah Graham was overwhelmed by the care given to her son Peter when he was a patient at Sunderland Royal Hospital.

The five-year-old, who attends a special education school, has cerebral palsy and autism. He was in hospital for a routine procedure and needed to have a general anaesthetic.

As it was the first time he was having it done, the youngster was feeling apprehensive, so the team kept him entertained and calm during his wait and recovery on F63 Ward.

To thank them for their efforts, illustrator Hannah used her skills to create an artwork to share with them and her followers of her Hannah Graham Story Teller Facebook page.

It shows consultant anaesthetist Will Green and Kelly Pearce, an operating department practitioner, and others as they helped keep Peter happy as he waited and during his anaesthetic.

Will downloaded Peter’s favourite episode of Hey Duggee on his phone so they could watch and sing along during his anaesthetic procedure. Hannah also drew Will’s face on a rubber glove to help distract him.

She worked both of these into the artwork, with the train trip storyline built into her drawing.

Also involved in helping Peter was Deb Hollins, a limb reconstruction nurse practitioner, orthopaedic surgeon Ling Lee and Neil Gayares and Reny Chacko, who are nurses in theatre recovery, while Hannah has also given porter Ann Mallam a shout out for her help in supporting Peter during his stay. 

Hannah and husband Mark, who works as an advanced practitioner pharmacist for South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, hope the artwork shines a light on the efforts of everyone involved in Peter’s care.

Hannah said: “As an illustrator, thought it would be the best way to show how much we appreciated what they did to help Peter. He was cared for in the hospital’s Neonatal Unit when he was born, so I used to draw to keep busy when he was very little.

“This was my way of saying the hugest thank you for the incredible experience we had.

“Peter has autism and cerebral palsy and to have a team that were a head of the game and brilliant made our journey so smooth.

“As part of it, I wanted to show anaesthetist Will - what an absolute treasure. He made so many proactive steps and showed sincere care and made reasonable adjustments to help Peter.

“F63 are such an attentive and happy team, they were all brilliant. They put on disco lights and then there’s the clickety-clack of the train in the Hey Duggee episode, so they’re in there too.”

Will has recently joined South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust after completing his training last year. In addition to his work in paediatric anaesthesia he is a member of the acute pain team and treats adult patients.

He said: “We were all lost for words when we saw the picture, it was rather emotional.

“I have a little boy called Henry, and enjoy Star Wars, superheroes and Lego, which is all very helpful for my work in paediatrics.

“I think the illustration is absolutely beautiful and we are all very touched that Hannah used her time and immense talent to give us some truly unique feedback.

“What I think Hannah captured was how the team comes together around a person, with the shared aim of not just providing excellent medical care, but creating an individual and positive experience. 

“When I think of Peter’s train ride with us, it started weeks ago with the surgical team, then to pre-assessment, the ward on the day and to us in theatre. 

“Each stop along the way is an opportunity to get to know some better, identify potential challenges and come up with solutions. The end result is we create a unique experience tailored for each patient. 

“It makes coming to work very easy knowing you are supported by such a wonderful team, and I’m proud of the service we are able to offer our community.   

“Coming for surgery can be an anxiety-inducing experience for adults as much as it is for children.

“I hope that if someone saw this picture, they would see that coming to theatre can be a happy and exciting experience, and that the whole team at STSFT are there to help in whatever way we can.

“Together, the whole team showed care and compassion and played a part in helping on that day.”

He added: “Peter was good as gold! I was lucky that my colleague Deb Hollins had arranged for me to meet Peter and his parents in the run up to his surgery and it helped us get to know Peter a bit better and plan what we could do on the day. 

“Having a toddler myself, I have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Hey Duggee so we had a lot of common ground. He and his parents were brilliant on the day.

 “We did for Peter what we try and do for all our patients, which is adjust what we do depending on what the person in front of us needs. 

“Come to F floor theatres and we’ve had bubbles, disco lights, nursery rhymes, even a rave and a rap, it just depends on what makes the individual most comfortable. 

“The team is very on board with creating a positive environment from pre-assessment to theatre and everywhere in STSFT I see staff making the small changes that make a big difference to our patients.”