11 December 2015

From sleigh to screen, Santa goes digital to wish Bristol Royal Hospital for Children a Merry Christmas 2015

Christmas is coming early to children at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children as Santa embraces the power of digital technology. With the help of video communications technology from Cisco, Santa will be making virtual visits live from the North Pole to the hospital on Friday 11 December to hear the children's Christmas wishes.

Celebrating its tenth year, Cisco's Connected Santa programme gives young patients and their families the opportunity to speak directly to Santa, while Santa's elf helpers will be on hand at the hospital to share gifts with the children in person. Cisco uses its Telepresence videoconferencing solutions and its new cloud-based collaboration application, Spark, to make the virtual experience possible.

"Spreading Christmas cheer to patients and their families at a time when they may not otherwise be able to enjoy the season is really important," said Lynne Barlow, play services manager at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. "Being part of Cisco's Connected Santa programme means that children who might not be able to go home over Christmas can still enjoy the magic it brings, by getting to speak with Santa at his busiest time of year."

"For many children, visiting Santa, and telling him what they want for Christmas is one of the most exciting parts of the holiday season. But for those in hospital his tradition can often be missed," said Phil Smith, Chief Executive of Cisco UK and Ireland. We're delighted to be able to utilise the power of our digital technology and work with Bristol Children's Hospital through our Connected Santa programme. Helping to bring that Christmas joy to the ward and put smiles on the faces of the children, their family and friends."

To track the progress of Santa and his elves, follow @CiscoUKI and the hashtag #connectedsanta or visit http://gblogs.cisco.com/uki/

 

                            

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