Today was our last visit to the hospital this year and as a Junior Carer. First, we went to visit an operating theatre. Before going into theatre, you are taken to another room where they give you an anaesthetic.  An anaesthetic stops you from feeling pain during an operation, procedure or treatment. Sometimes you might get a general anaesthetic where medicines are used to send you to sleep. The theatre nurses showed us all the equipment used to monitor people during an operation. There is a machine that monitors your blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels. While in the theatre, she showed us some of the equipment the surgeons used and talked us through some of their procedures to ensure they were carrying out the right operation on the right person. Some of us even got to try on the protective equipment you need to wear if working in the operating theatre.

Nurse Herring then told us a little about how our brains work. Did you know that your brain is faster and more powerful than a supercomputer and can generate enough electricity to power a lightbulb. Information sent around the brain travels at 150 miles per hour. We found out that exercise can make our brain smarter! Not only that, it can improve our mood which is very important for our mental wellbeing.

The brain is made up of different parts...

One thing to remember, is that sleep helps the brain to remember all the memories from the day and if we don't sleep, we could have trouble creating new memories.

In the hospital grounds, there is a fish pond that is a place people can go to help look after their mental wellbeing. Sharon told us that sometimes people do not need medicines to make them feel better but may need to join a knitting group or a walking club. We were asked to write our own prescription for happiness. Here are some of our ideas...

Then, Sneha Pandya, a Senior Dental Nurse talked to use about keeping our mouth healthy and looking after our teeth and gums to avoid tooth decay and gum disease. She showed us how we should brush our teeth and gums, other things we could do to keep our teeth healthy and we discussed the types of foods and drinks which were good and bad for our teeth.

For more information on keeping teeth and gums healthy click on the links below:

At the end of the day, we were invited to the boardroom where we were greeted by the Chief Nurse, Katie Prichard Thomas and the Chief Executive, Steve McManus. We talked about what we had enjoyed about being a Junior Carer and what our favourite bits were and then they presented us with a certificate and  pin badge.

Eesha said thank you on behalf of everyone and presented the thank you cards we had made as we all thoroughly enjoyed our time at the hospital and we learnt a lot.