Even when they’re ill, children ‘light up the room’ according to one of the doctors featured in Ward Plant, S4C’s series telling the stories of patients and staff on two children’s wards at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.

The series features the daily stories of Dewi and Minffordd Wards at Ysbyty Gwynedd – the two wards providing care for children locally.

The cameras of Chwarel TV production company spent a three week period last year on the wards filming the eight-part documentary series.

“Although children pose a slightly bigger problem than adults when it comes to finding out what’s wrong with them and finding out what’s going on, they provide a different view on life and they light up the room even when they’re ill,” said Dr Teleri Jones of Llynfaes, Anglesey, a trainee family practitioner at Ysbyty Gwynedd, speaking in Ward Plant this week.

Viewers meet eight children and young people in the programme with a wide range of ages and medical conditions, from a six month old baby with a cleft lip to a teenage boy who’s had a serious injury to his arm while climbing a wall.

Violet Roberts is one of twins from Llannerchymedd, Anglesey born at 26 weeks and with a cleft lip. Her sister Ruby is completely well but Violet faces a series of hospital treatments at Ysbyty Gwynedd and at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. In such cases, there’s a cleft between the nose and the lip, a problem which develops in the womb and which creates feeding problems for the child in the early months.

By now Violet is better able to feed thanks to a specially-designed bottle and the twins’ mother, Rosemary Naylor is happier now that Violet is gaining weight. “She’s doing OK, but she’ll be having further treatment in Alder Hey in March,” said Rosemary. “There’ll be further treatment needed later on but it helps that I can stay at the hospital to keep her company.”

Deio Thomas, aged 14, from Caernarfon suffered a serious injury to his left arm while he was climbing a wall on an outing watching rugby with friends in Bethesda. Deio received treatment at Ysbyty Gwynedd and had a skin graft at Whiston Hospital on Merseyside. By now Deio has recovered and is back with his friends at Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen secondary school, Caernarfon.

“It was a very bad injury but Deio didn’t complain or cry throughout the whole thing,” said his father, Neil Thomas.

Ward Plant can be seen on Tuesday,  March 3, at  8.25pm on S4C with English subtitles.