Derian House Children's Hospice receives life changing tech donation

The £50,000 package of specialist technology, given by national children’s charity, Lifelites, will help children play games with their friends, make music, and communicate with their family.One of the pieces – the Magic Carpet – projects an image onto the floor, a wheelchair or a bed, which the children can interact with. This technology gives them the chance to escape the confines of their condition and make magical memories. The equipment is portable so the Derian at Home team can take it to use with children who are too ill to travel into the hospice.David Robinson, Chief Executive at Derian House Children’s Hospice, said: “At Derian we’re focused on being innovative and forward-thinking to offer our children and young people the very best experiences available to make happy memories in the time they have.“This technology will make a real difference to our families and we can’t wait to start using it.”Staff from Lifelites, who have donated equipment to every children’s hospice in the British Isles over the last 18 years, arrived on-site last week to install the huge haul and train staff on how to use them. Every four years, the charity will replace the technology completely free of charge.Rob, 21, who uses Derian’s services, said: “I think the new equipment is really good. I’ve played the X-box now with Chris. We’re tag-teaming. He’s steering and I’m doing the accelerator.”Lifelites was able to donate this equipment thanks to the generosity of donors. Donors range from Freemasons from Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire, the Sobell Foundation, Children with Cancer UK, GamesAid and Microsoft.