Queen Camilla spoke about her grandchildren’s frequent trips to A&E (Image: Getty)
spoke candidly about her grandchildren’s ‘regular visits’ to an NHS A&E as she officially opened the hospital’s new emergency unit yesterday.
Chatting with staff at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, Wiltshire, she told them “you’ve treated a lot of my family” before revealing that she had given birth to her daughter, Laura, at the same hospital.
Camilla, 77, who still has her own home in the area, Raymill, met staff, patients and volunteers involved in a £33.5 million urgent and emergency care expansion, the biggest ever investment to the hospital site.
The department has been re-designed to include ‘major injuries cubicles’, with more private glass doors rather than traditional curtains, and an increase in resuscitation cubicles.
After touring the medical assessment unit, the Queen stopped to chat with staff and thank them for their work.
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Queen Camilla petted therapy dog Fenton (Image: Getty)
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“I know quite a lot about you,” she said. “You’ve treated a lot of my family.
“My daughter will often call me saying ‘guess where I am?’ And I get a picture of a thumb sticking up at an odd angle, or a leg.
“I know what a nice place it is and what great care you take of people.”
The Queen also spent time petting a bow-tie-wearing therapy dog, telling the poodle, “I am sure you make a lot of people feel a lot better.”
The dog, called Fenton, wagged its tail enthusiastically as dog-lover Camilla told him: “You are the star of the show. Very sweet and very smart little haircut.”
Ayda Nicholson, eight, followed the Queen down a corridor to say hello, with her mother explaining that she had been in hospital for suspected appendicitis and had been in a lot of pain but was desperate to meet royalty.
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Queen Camilla unveiled a plaque at the end of her visit (Image: Getty)
Camilla was happy to stop and chat, putting her hand on the youngster’s shoulder and asking her: “Oh you poor thing, how are you feeling? Better?”
She was also shown the Children’s Emergency Unit, the first of its kind on the hospital site, bringing together emergency care and paediatric assessment, and met clinical staff, community and patient groups and construction partners involved in the new development.
Her Majesty concluded the visit by unveiling a plaque with the help of Latoya Vashi, nine, from nearby Badbury Park Primary School.
The girl gave her a plant in a pot that had been beautifully decorated by the pupils. “I shall treasure that,” the Queen said.
Before moving on to her second engagement at Prospect Hospice in Wroughton, Camilla stopped to chat and shake hands with the large crowd gathered outside the hospital.