Abseiling Santas brighten holidays for children in Slovenian hospitals

Cave rescuers and firefighters brought festive cheer to little patients in Ljubljana and Maribor as they abseiled from the top of the children's hospitals wearing Santa costumes for the twelfth year running, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

After performing their stunts, members of the national Rescue Service and the Ljubljana Fire Brigade presented the children with gifts. To the joy of little patients, they were also accompanied by their dogs.

The annual campaign, organised by Hitradio Center, was held at Ljubljana's Paediatric Clinic on 19 December, two days after the abseiling Santas brought cheer to at the children's hospital in Maribor.

Marko Pokorn, the medical director of the Ljubljana Paediatric Clinic, thanked the Santas for brightening up the children's day in hospital, describing them as people who dedicate their lives to saving other people's lives.

"Our clinic treats a lot of children with various respiratory infections in winter, and especially in December it is often distressing to see children who would like to be at home with their parents during the festive season," said Jernej Dolinšek, head of the Maribor Paediatric Clinic.

The children are very happy when the Santas wave them through the window and present them with gifts. "We see the parents are also a bit more reassured and, together with the children, find it much easier to spend time in hospital," he added. The staff enjoy the event as well because it brightens up their day at work.