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Players' festive visit 'boosts mood' at hospice

Victoria Polley/BBC Footballers wearing grey hoodies standing by a blonde woman who is sitting on a sofa with a blanket. They are all smiling at the camera. Two of the men are holding either of her hands while they look into the camera. Victoria Polley/BBC
Colchester United players and staff meet a patient at St Helena Hospice in the town

A special Christmas visit from a local football team has "boosted the mood" at a hospice.

St Helena Hospice, in Colchester, Essex, was founded in 1985 and provides end of life care for people and their families in the county.

Players and staff from Colchester United, including head coach Danny Cowley and captain Tom Flanagan, donated two sensory lights to be used by patients who might not be able to get out much.

Senior ward sister Kirsty Smith said: "It was really good and it was great feeling to see them chatting and it boosted the mood on the unit."

Cowley said: "It is such a positive place, so many people with smiles on their faces - so happy to see us.

"It is a pleasure and a privilege for us to be here and we are so appreciative to just be invited first and foremost, and to just spend some time with the patients and their families.

"In football you can be in a bubble, and sometimes you don't actually know what's happening in the outside world because you are so focused on trying to win on a Saturday."

He said the visit was about giving back to the community.

Victoria Polley/BBC Footballers posing in front of a Christmas tree with the staff. Two of the footballers are holding wrapped Christmas gifts. Everyone is smiling at the cameraVictoria Polley/BBC
Colchester United head coach Danny Cowley (third right) said it was a "pleasure and a privilege" to visit the hospice
Victoria Polley/BBC Footballers wearing grey hoodies standing by an elderly woman who is sitting on a sofa with a blanket. They are all smiling at the camera.Victoria Polley/BBC
Colchester United captain Tom Flanagan (left) praised staff at the hospice for creating "a homely feel" for patients

Miss Smith said "it was heartwarming to see the engagement" as the footballers signed merchandise and shared stories of the game.

She added that the sensory light projectors, which replicate stars and clouds, would help the patients who have neurological issues.

"It is good for patients who can't go outside and it is really good to create a calming environment," she said.

Flanagan said: "I've been to a couple of hospices through football at Christmas and this set-up is so nice, it has such a homely feel about it for families who come in a pretty dark period and everyone is so upbeat.

"We met a young girl who is an aspiring goalie."

He said the girl's father had passed away while receiving care at the hospice but that she was now receiving aftercare from the team.

"It's been a good day and really eye-opening," Flanagan added.

"It's almost like everyone is pleased to be here - which is a strange thing to say but I think that is really important.

"We spoke to a few of the patients and everything that they said was kind of based on the staff - that they are making a tough period of an individual's life so great."

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