Visitors to Children’s Outpatients at the Horton Wing, St Luke’s Hospital, are being encouraged to think twice about what they drink, thanks to the creativity and initiative of a Bradford teenager.
Seventeen-year-old Haniya, whose younger brother regularly attends appointments at St Luke’s Hospital, recently designed and created an eye-catching display to highlight the amount of sugar in popular drinks.
Haniya, who is a year 12 student at Dixons Sixth Form College, completed it independently as part of her schoolwork as it reflects her strong interest in promoting good oral health.
The teenager, who lives in Eccleshill, hopes to pursue a career in dentistry, so had carefully researched the sugar content of a range of drinks and created visual packets showing the equivalent grams of sugar contained in each one.
Haniya said:
As a young carer, I frequently accompanied my younger siblings to healthcare appointments and often spent time reading the health promotion materials displayed in waiting areas. During a visit to the child development centre at St Luke’s Hospital, I noticed an old oral health poster and saw an opportunity to update improve patient education.
I took the initiative to redesign the display, focusing on the sugar content of everyday drinks and their impact on dental health. I deliberately included drinks such as pure apple juice and mango lassi, as these are often perceived as healthy choices despite their high sugar content.
My aim was to create a clear, engaging resource that would help parents make informed decisions when shopping and encourage healthier choices to protect their children’s teeth. This experience reinforced the importance of prevention, health promotion, and effective communication in improving public health outcomes.
The display has been installed in the Children’s Outpatients waiting area, where it is already attracting plenty of attention from patients and families.
Nursing Sister, Debbie Griffith, praised Haniya’s contribution and said:
Haniya is a lovely, bright young woman who wants to go into dentistry.
Creating this drinks and sugar board for us here in Children’s Outpatients has sparked a lot of interest and discussion from parents, children and patients.
The way she has represented the sugar content in different drinks really makes people stop and think about their choices.
The display builds on previous health promotion initiatives within the department and provides a simple, but powerful visual message, about the impact of sugary drinks on dental and general health.
Parents have already been taking photographs of the board, helping to spread the message beyond the hospital walls, added Debbie.
Everyone in Children’s Outpatients would like to thank Haniya for her hard work, creativity and commitment to raising awareness.
We wish her every success as she works towards her ambition of becoming a dentist.”