The Duke of Sussex has told nurses that they are “changing daily lives” during a visit to Birmingham Children’s Hospital on Thursday.
Prince Harry also spoke about the “financial difficulties” facing the NHS and revealed that his son, Prince Archie, is a “master” Lego builder during his visit.
Harry toured the hospital to celebrate 20 years of a specialist nursing programme run by the charity WellChild.
It helps seriously ill children and their families transition from the hospital to their homes.
Nurses and other medical staff surrounded him in the hospital corridors, with one medic receiving a hug.
Families asked for photos and the duke posed for a group shot with about 12 nurses, telling them: “Thank you for everything you do.”
Harry was there to meet two nurses funded by WellChild, which facilitates the early discharge of children by teaching their parents the skills needed to provide care at home.
He also met some of the young patients at the hospital, including 12-year-old Alec Hill and his parents.
During their conversation, the duke revealed that his son Archie, who recently turned 7, loves playing with Lego.
“Do you know who’s obsessed with Lego? My son Archie – and he’s a master builder,” said Harry.
The duke, WellChild’s patron, also told a room of the charity’s executives, nurses and families: “I don’t know if you hear it enough, the difference that you make every single day is quite literally changing daily lives.”
He added: “I understand, and we understand, that becomes harder every week with cuts and financial difficulties… just the insanity that seems to be circulating, not just in this country but in general.
“But hospitals like this don’t run without people like you, and families like this can’t be families that they want to be at home without the expertise and the skill set that you’re handing over to them, and WellChild is right at the centre of that.”
Harry is in the UK to mark the one-year countdown until the Invictus Games, which will be held in Birmingham next July. The international multi-sport event supports wounded, injured, and sick military service personnel.
