A BRAND new outdoor play area has opened at Cilgerran Ward in Glangwili Hospital following a huge staff fundraising effort.

In March 2016, much loved paediatric nurse Jayne Sherwin passed away after a short illness.

Jayne was a popular member of the team and was always looking for ways to make the ward a more pleasant environment for patients.

To keep Jayne's memory alive the team organised the Cilgerran Costal Challenge, a 50 mile coastal walk and raised over £10,000.

The outdoor area on Cilgerran had not been in use for over two years and was in desperate need of attention to make it safe for the children who are well enough to spend time outside during their hospital visits.

The project was delivered by Next Steps Carmarthenshire, a partnership between Carmarthenshire County Council, Coleg Sir Gar and CCTAL.

The partnership is led by two local building firms – Lloyd Gravell Ltd & TRJ Ltd – which undertakes a community benefit project within Carmarthenshire whilst offering school leavers with an interest in the construction trade the opportunity to volunteer their time to compete for a full time paid apprenticeship with the companies.

Next Steps agreed to take on the outdoor play area on Cilgerran as their community benefit project for 2017.

Angharad Davies, Senior Paediatric Sister at Cilgerran Ward said:"I am incredibly proud of our nurses who have fundraised tirelessly over the last year for this outdoor play project.

"The coastal challenge we undertook last year was a real team effort where many of our nurses and doctors united together to ensure this project progressed in our late colleague Jayne's memory.

"We are also lucky to have the ongoing support from our patient's families. We will always be extremely grateful for all the support and donations we have gained from the Next Steps project and local companies.

"The garden is outstanding and is all down to their engagement in this project.

"It's amazing what you can achieve when a community comes together.

"Lle Hapus will be an asset to Cilgerran Ward and will hopefully provide our families with a little respite during any admission. "

Kevin Gravell, Lloyd & Gravell Ltd added: "Having met the team at Cilgerran Ward we could only be inspired by the efforts already undertaken by the staff to raise funds to provide a facility for the children and their parents.

"I am sure everyone will agree that the scheme is a little bit bigger than what was first imagined.

"Apprenticeship winners Connor, Jordan, Kyle and Jordan have worked tirelessly alongside our teams to deliver the best scheme possible for the patients and their families at Lle Hapus and are a credit to their generation and more importantly themselves.

"This project along with others that have been completed as part of the Next Step and Constructing Carmarthenshire initiative has demonstrated that when the community gets together the possibilities are endless. "