Miller Construction, in partnership with Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, has been helping the children of some of the staff to put their stamp on the new £30 million emergency care centre.

Miller Construction launched an art competition for the children to design new hoardings to go round the QE site whilst building work is on-going. The new site hoardings provide directions for patients and visitors to the hospital during the temporary closure of the main entrance.

The children, aged between five and 11, attend the Holiday Den, a subsidised childcare programme which runs during the school holidays for the children of staff working at the QE or Bensham Hospital.

Cameron Stewart, Project Director, Miller Construction, said: "We were delighted to unveil the children’s artwork on the site hoardings, as we progress with works on the new emergency care centre at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

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"The art competition was designed to allow the children from the Holiday Den to learn about the building works and use their creativity to add some colour to the site hoardings.

"Additionally, it will help guide the patients and visitors to the new temporary main entrance for the duration of the construction work due to the old main entrance being inaccessible within the site boundary.

"At Miller we are committed to working with the local communities in the areas where we work and always aim to bring benefits to those living and working in the area."

During the Christmas holidays, Miller Construction visited the Holiday Den to explain about the work being carried out at the hospital and to give an insight into the variety of career opportunities available in the construction industry.

Judith Portlock, Childcare Co-ordinator for Queen Elizabeth Hospital, added: "The standard of entries was fantastic and the children really put their heart and souls into illustrating what the hospital meant to them. It's amazing to see the artwork recreated onto such large hoardings and really made the children feel part of the hospital community where their parents work."

Upon completion, the emergency care centre will provide a single integrated service for the people of Gateshead and the surrounding area when they have a medical emergency, including a specific unit for the treatment of children. It will also include accident and emergency facilities including a walk-in type facility, a 35 bed short stay unit and specialist diagnostic equipment to help doctors and nurses diagnose and treat patients’ problems more quickly.

(GK)