For many people out there, the last place they want to spend their Christmas holidays is in a hospital ward. The staff of Female Ward 8 at Attard’s Mount Carmel mental hospital know this all too well, recently turning the whole place into a winter wonderland. And it was all painstakingly done by hand.

As Suzanne Zahra explained in a Facebook post showing off the decorations, this has become an annual tradition for the ward’s staff. “Most of the decorations are hand-made by the nurses and carers themselves,” Zahra said, sharing a plastic-cup snowman, cardboard Christmas trees, and even a makeshift paper-and-cardboard fireplace which still looks pretty darn cosy. 

Oh, and check out the awesomely-pimped-out sleigh they got Santa!

“This shows so much love and dedication from the staff, creating a home away from home for their patients,” Zahra said. And it sure looks like that, thanks to all the beautiful decorations dotting every inch of the hospital ward. 

“Unfortunately, Mount Carmel had some negative news in the past year,” Zahra told Lovin Malta, well aware of the stigma which has recently surrounded the hospital. From her own past experiences, however, she knows it’s not a universal case which applies to the whole institution. A doctor who’s worked in the hospital before, Zahra has always been fascinated by the decorations at the ward. “This ward in particular shows constant love towards their patients, and the nurses and carers there are very dedicated to their work.” 

“Many patients are afraid to seek help because of the stigma, and patients who need admission to Mount Carmel Hospital are not so keen to do so because of the negative news MCH faces,” Zahra told Lovin Malta. “Really, there are very good and trained mental health nurses and doctors which will help them go through whatever they are going through.”

Zahra concluded her Facebook post, which has already started gaining some traction, by congratulating FW8 “for making a hospital ward feel so warm and welcoming over the holidays.”

Share this post if you think that plastic-cup snowman is the cutest thing ever!

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David Grech Urpani

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).