Patients visiting Great Western Hospital with poorly children will now once again have access to their own fridge.

Mother of two Alexandra Moulding, 47, Old Town, regularly visits the Swindon hospital with her 15-year-old son Oscar who has muscular dystrophy and has been an inpatient at the children's ward many times throughout his life. 

But she recently visited the ward for the first time in three years after a run of good health and discovered that the fridge - which parents could use to store food as there isn't always time to go to the canteen - was missing. 

"Oscar's condition means he has compromised respiratory function and he had a bad case of bronchitis and needed extra support," she said. 
Swindon Advertiser: An empty space where the fridge should be in the GWH children's ward parent's room and a note explaining it was out of order prompted one Swindon mother to take matters into her own hands.An empty space where the fridge should be in the GWH children's ward parent's room and a note explaining it was out of order prompted one Swindon mother to take matters into her own hands. (Image: Alexandra Moulding)

"The parent's room is a vital resource for families. It's a comfortable quiet space to take a break but also a place to make a drink and get some food. Traditionally it has always had a kettle, microwave and fridge.

"There isn't always time to go to the canteen if your child is very sick and it can soon get pricey if you go there often. So bringing food from home to eat at your convenience makes a big difference."

But she found the fridge was missing and in its place was a note explaining it was out of order and to ask a member of staff for further help. She later discovered it had been broken for months and the ward was waiting for funds to replace it.

Alexandra and Oscar are no strangers to fundraising, so the mum thought she'd try her hand at solving the problem, putting out a public appeal on the Swindon Community Notice Board on April 10. 

And the Swindon public responded to the call as a new fridge was installed at the hospital three days later. 

Swindon Advertiser: The parent's room at the GWH children's ward in SwindonThe parent's room at the GWH children's ward in Swindon (Image: Alexandra Moulding)

"I put the appeal out on Facebook and within 30 minutes I'd had about six offers to donate a brand new fridge," she explained.

"Steven Keye from HandyPlus Electrical stepped forward and was also able to do all the necessary safety checks. He delivered it a couple of days later and filled it with fizzy pop for the parents too. What a nice man!"

She added: "All the staff on the ward work so hard and are such a positive support when you have a long-term patient, so it's nice to be able to able to help them a little bit in return."