MediCinema is building a new cinema inside Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool in 2024.
Here’s a lovely story for your Friday morning. MediCinema, a charity that builds and manages cinemas inside hospitals, has announced they’re building a new cinema inside Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
This will be the first cinema inside a solely paediatric hospital and it’s due to open in 2024. 2024’s slate of family-friendly films include Kung Fu Panda 4, the new Ghostbusters sequel and The Garfield Movie to name a few potential screenings. MediCinema works together with UK distributors to be able to show current releases so no one has to feel like they’re missing out just because they’re in a hospital.
Specially trained volunteers will be present at the screenings and Alder Hey Nurses can opt to work for MediCinema outside their usual rota. Together, they will help families enjoy the magic of the cinema while still ensuring things are safe and the patients receive the care they need.
We don’t need to tell you why this is fantastic news. Life in hospital can be quite dire, but a trip to the cinema can mean so much and bring some much needed hope and a sense of normalcy. As MediCinema’s official website states, these trips to the cinema also help “break the ice” between friends and patients “as it gives them something other than their condition to talk about.”
“This project is so exciting – the charity already funds so much at Alder Hey that helps to make a hospital stay the best it can be for our children and this new MediCinema will ensure the hospital has that something extra for them too, adding a sprinkle of movie magic to a child’s journey!” said Fiona Ashcroft, Chief Executive at Alder Hey Children’s Charity of the project.
“We are so proud to be building our next MediCinema inside Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. We’ve been bringing the benefits of the big screen to patients in NHS hospitals for more than 20 years, and over that time seen the extraordinary range of impact and benefit it can have. We want to bring that positive impact to more NHS patients across the UK, and are delighted for the opportunity to do just that for close to 5000 children and their families every year at this prestigious hospital,” Colin Lawrence, CEO of MediCinema, added.
MediCinema already operates in five other hospitals around the country. The new cinema in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital will be funded through Alder Hey Children’s Charity and MediCinema.