Christmas has now come to Worcestershire Royal Hospital. So on Thursday the long awaited Christmas tree appeared just in time for the Carol Concert.

And at 2pm, the main entrance filled with people; there seemed to be more than last year. And there were so many stand-out and magical moments. The first was the Staff Signing Choir, who had learned four Christmas songs in British Sign Language; but more than that two of my deaf friends came along and joined in the signing.

The second was the fabulous Hollymount School. They turned up in their sparkly Santa hats and treated us to some fabulous songs with actions.

Their enthusiasm and obvious joy at performing was priceless to watch; and was followed by massive cheers and applause from the watching crowd. But perhaps the most magical part for me was that some staff had gone the extra mile and brought patients from their wards.

That’s nice you say…yes it is; but these patients were in hospital beds and when I think of the logistics of getting them down to the main entrance; making sure they were safe and observed; and all the things nurses do, I realise how much love, compassion and care there is in our staff group.

And there, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a lady who I had visited. She had recently lost both her husband and son while she was in hospital, and was brought by nurses even though she is a different part of the hospital. She was smiling.

All of this made me reflect. The hospital is a big family and like all families we have good times and bad. But standing together in the main entrance I felt optimistic that, in the easy times and the more challenging, we can stick by each other as families do.

Maybe it is just the rose-tinted glasses of the Christmas spirit; but as I looked out on the congregation, I again felt enormous pride at working for this trust and pride at being able to call these skilled, compassionate professionals “My friends”.