Rizzle Kicks back Brighton charity’s hospital help

Brighton pop duo Rizzle Kicks helped the Rockinghorse children’s charity celebrate a makeover of three rooms for teenage patients at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital.

The hip-hop pair – Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexander-Sule – met and mixed with youngsters on the wards at the Royal Alex this afternoon (Sunday 29 April).

They praised Rockinghorse’s £8,000 refurbishment of the three rooms, giving them comfortable sofas and chairs, DVD players, a table football, game consoles and a pool table.

And the two 20-year-old pop stars also played on some of the equipment with patients at the Royal Alex and posed for pictures with them.

Rockinghorse said that the refurbishment of the three rooms was possible thanks to donations that it had received from the Starbucks Realising Potential Programme, Amanda Munday and Stella Buckingham.

Jordan said: “It’s important to have a space to be away from medical procedures, especially if you’re young and in hospital.

“It was really cool to meet some of the children here today. They were all lovely.”

Rizzle Kicks came to prominence last year after the success of their debut album Stereo Typical and a number one hit single Heart Skips a Beat with Olly Murs.

Rockinghorse said that, before the refit, young people had had a separate area with limited comfort and no play equipment.

The redesigned rooms allow distraction from hospital life and a comfortable room in which to unwind and help them feel more at home.

These, said Rockinghorse, added to the already excellent services at the Royal Alex, which are provided by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Last year more than 2,000 teenage patients were treated at the Royal Alex.

Allie Polhill, Rockinghorse’s senior fundraising and marketing manager, said: “It was a great afternoon and the young people really enjoyed Rizzle Kicks’ visit.

“We’re so grateful to Jordan and Harley for sparing time out from their hectic schedules to open our teenage rooms and meet some of the children at the Alex.

“We also want to thank everyone who contributed to the rooms and most importantly, for giving the young people a space to be teenagers.