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Gaming charity, TheRockinR, has installed its gaming carts throughout UK hospitals to support children and young adults as they undergo treatments and procedures, after receiving a donation of 30 monitors from the leading global innovator of display technologies, BenQ.
The donation came at the perfect time to help children stay connected to the outside world while lockdown measures were in place. 10 mobile gaming carts featuring the monitors have already been installed within Alder Hey Children’s Hospital (Liverpool), Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Poole Hospital (Dorset) and Hereford County Hospital, with the remaining being installed over the coming months.
TheRockinR was set up by the parent team, Jonny and Carol Miree, after the loss of their 11-year old son, Reece Miree, in March 2018. Throughout their son’s hospital visits they identified there were many specific ways in which interactive gaming could help patients. By offering a distraction from treatments and procedures, the charity aims to promote well-being and social interaction through gaming and communication.
Reece’s father, Jonny, who founded TheRockinR says: “We are extremely grateful to BenQ for their generous donation. With four hospitals across the UK already benefiting from their new Gaming Carts, we continue to see the positive impact that this access gives to children in hospitals. Lockdown measures put huge restrictions on visiting times and access, so the carts are providing extra entertainment and comfort to those who aren’t seeing family regularly.”
The Gaming Carts are specifically designed for a medical environment and offer gaming consoles, wireless controllers, age-appropriate internet access and film sites such as Netflix to be accessed safely. The carts allow healthcare professionals, play specialists and play facilitators to provide recreation and play to children and young people who are immobile, spending time in the hospital or visiting as an outpatient. The durable design is easy-to-clean with most hospital-grade cleaning solutions to maintain infection control.
Jonny continues: “Gaming was the one thing Reece continued to enjoy throughout his time in hospital and giving other people access to that 24 hour community really helps with those feelings of loneliness, anxiety and isolation that are so commonly experienced in hospitals – now more than ever.”
Positive results
Feedback from parents, clinicians, staff and patients show that the gaming carts have an overwhelmingly positive impact and allow young people to alleviate the constraints and anxieties that are often associated with the hospital environment.
Richard Mackey, marketing executive from BenQ, adds: “At BenQ we have a very active role within the gaming industry, so when we heard about TheRockinR we knew we had to support this brilliant charity. The impact 30 monitors have made has been astronomical. We hear from Jonny that the carts enable multiple children or families to gather round to play, watch and interact with one another. It’s a huge honour to see the carts give so much enjoyment and normality into what many of us may never comprehend.”
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