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Surprise visit from West Ham United stars for our patients and staff

West Ham United stars surprised staff with a visit to Queen's Hospital

West Ham United players surprised staff and patients with special visits to Queen’s and King George hospitals as part of our thank you celebrations.

On Friday 22 July, ex-strikers and West Ham legends Carlton Cole and Marlon Harewood spent time with staff at both hospitals at our brunch and afternoon tea events, where they chatted with staff and had their pictures taken.

Then on Wednesday 27 July, first-team stars Łukasz Fabiański and Vladimír Coufal visited Queen’s Hospital and spent time with shocked staff and patients who had no idea they would be joining us.

West Ham United stars surprised staff with a visit to Queen's Hospital

The players surprised some of our staff in the Lavender Garden and were greeted with big smiles as they chatted, had photos taken and handed out generous bags of treats.

One of our lucky staff who got to meet Łukasz and Vladimír was Callum Oubridge, Education Centre Assistant and huge Hammers fan. He said: “It was an unforgettable experience meeting the players. They were so friendly, had a genuine interest in the work I do and made me feel like they really wanted to spend time with us.”

Fabiański and Coufal also raised the spirits of our patients when they visited excited children on Tropical Lagoon ward and adults on Sky A ward for a chat and to hand out goody bags.

Players also spent time with children on their visit to Queen's Hospital

Joe Lyons, West Ham United Foundation CEO, said: “Community is the cornerstone of our club. The NHS is an important relationship for us and one that we’re delighted to continue to support – whether through this event or other initiatives such as programme partnerships, campaign messaging and bespoke experiences.

“I know that many of the BHRUT staff members are avid West Ham supporters so to be able to bring some of the players and ambassadors along to put a smile on everyone’s faces, is something that we’re really proud to be able to do – especially after what has been such a challenging few years for the Trust.

“We’re incredibly thankful to everyone at the NHS for everything that they do for our community and we’re delighted to have been able to play a small part in making a positive difference to the staff, patients and families across BHRUT for this event.”

Players also spent time with children on their visit to Queen's Hospital

Our Chief Executive Matthew Trainer said: “It was great to welcome the club to our hospitals to meet staff and patients at our thank you events.

“We had a lot of happy faces and from everyone here at the Trust, we would like to thank Łukasz, Vladimir, Carlton and Marlon for taking the time to visit us, as well as the club’s Foundation staff who provided some fantastic activities for children to enjoy at our family fun day. I’d also like to thank the club for their generous donations for our staff raffle.

“West Ham United are a huge part of our community and we value the close relationship we have, which continues to grow.”

Other projects we’ve worked in partnership with West Ham include last season’s kit launch, a nutrition webinar for our staff and a special visit to the club’s training ground.

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