At Liverpool Women's, being a part of the wider community is big on our agenda. We are always looking for opportunities to engage and involve communities in what we do. Last Saturday was yet again a truly heart-warming event for our Annual Members Meeting.
We organised the day to coincide with International Day of the Girl 2014. We had an inspiring talk from Claire Campbell from Big Love Sista, a local social enterprise creating high profile art exhibitions and projects bringing people together from vulnerable communities. You can follow their work on twitter @biglovesista. 100 of their Goddess portraits were displayed across the hospital. One of their next projects is to encourage women leaders to paint themselves and yes I have signed up to paint myself as a Goddess. I have no talent whatsoever when it comes to art so that will be interesting!!!!
We also welcomed 150 participants from Girlguiding Northwest England. Amongst the activities of the day were:
My Story so far – our Chair, myself, our Deputy Chair, our Director of Nursing and Midwifery and our Scientific Director talked about our career paths and how we had become leaders in our chosen professions.
Our Reproductive Medicine staff led a fascinating session on reproductive medicine and the participants learned about the science behind procreation and the compelling work of our embryologists.
Green Living – The girls joined our Estates and Environmental services team to learn about the importance of keeping our hospital green and friendly.
Exploring the Health sector – the girls had an opportunity to find out how varied job opportunities are in the NHS and to learn about work experience opportunities.
X-Ray and Ultrasound – With the help of some willing pregnant volunteers and our specialist team, the girls got to take a peek at a baby on an ultrasound scan.
Life of a Midwife and a Nurse – the girls got to team up with some of our midwives and nurses to learn about their day to day duties.
Introduction to genetics – The girls got to step into the working world of our Genetic Scientists and learn how Genetics is changing the face of medicine. They got to learn how to use a microscope and how to find the chromosome in an exciting activity.
Happy Hands – Our Infection Control specialists showed the girls how easily germs are spread and they got to learn about how we keep our hospital clean.
Doctor for a Day – the girls got to dress up in masks and theatre scrubs and got to try out equipment like the laparoscopic training equipment that we use to teach our new doctors how to perform operations.
During the day we unveiled our newly designed baby lambanana and the girl guides were all presented with a special Liverpool Women's Badge to remember their time here.
We were entertained during the day by the fantastic band from Sandfield Park School.
A massive thank you to our Governors and our Communications team who organised the event and a big thank you to all of our staff who engaged so positively with our visitors and made the experience a fun day for them.