Meet the Alder Hey security guard whose drawings are helping to ‘treat’ its young patients

For the last six years Shaun Maudsley has been a security guard at Alder Hey, helping to protect and look after the Liverpool children’s hospital as well as its staff and patients.

And when he’s not patrolling the wards or responding to emergencies, the father-of-four has found an additional duty to add to his more formal ones – cheering up its young patients with drawings of their favourite comic heroes and characters.

Keen artist Shaun, 52, from St Helens, can regularly be found handing out colourful pictures he’s created of Spider-Man or Lilo & Stitch, and more, to the young children receiving treatment.

He says:

“If I can bring a bit of cheer to these kids and make them happy, then it gives me a good feeling too.

“It’s nice to put a smile on a few faces, especially when I can see that they’re a bit worried, or a little distressed. They stop crying because they get distracted.”

Shaun adds: “Some of the patients can be in the hospital for a long time and it means they leave with good memories of the place.”

Shaun has always been creative and is well known among his friends for watercolour landscapes and portraiture.

But it’s the comic superheroes and Disney characters drawn in pencil, pen and ink, and marker pens that are his passion.

His talents were first spotted many years ago at Sutton High School where he was a pupil: “The geographer teacher noticed I was good at drawing maps and copying them,” he says.

“If I see something I can generally recreate it.

“I used to draw for my own children, Scooby Doo and Thomas the Tank Engine, which they’d put up on their walls.

“Comic book heroes from Marvel and DC Comics are my favourite, Spider-Man, The Hulk, Batman and Deadpool, but over the last few years I have started doing more Disney characters too, like Lilo & Stitch, or Tigger or Eeyore.”

Shaun uses his art as therapy in the wee small hours: “I don’t sleep a lot, or very well – I never have – so using the time to draw fills the lonely hours and means I don’t disturb everyone else,” he smiles.

He began drawing at Alder Hey during the demolition of the former hospital, when he and colleagues took turns to man the older buildings.

“When I was sitting in an empty building I’d start drawing.  Then later, if I saw a child walking past in Spider-Man PJs, say, I’d give them a picture.

“Or if I saw a child with Marvel stuff, I’d give them a picture of the Hulk.

“Then every now and then I’d get a call from a nurse to say someone was a fan of a certain Disney or DC character, and ask if I could do them a drawing.

“I’ve even done pictures of people like Buzz Lightyear and the Lion King, pointing to an intercom button in places around the hospital, and stuff like that.”

Shaun’s now got a stash of pictures which he keeps in his desk or work bag ready, like the superheroes he draws, to race to the rescue and hand them out to hospital patients.

And while friends are often saying he should sell his work on well-known websites, he says:

“For me it will always be just a hobby.”

But he adds: “It’s nice that my skills and talents have found a good use, and they can bring a little joy.  That makes me happy too.”

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