The Grand Appeal launches new £1.5m Home from Home Appeal
Posted on: 27 May 2016The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity, is today announcing its new £1.5million Home from Home Appeal, to provide free family accommodation for parents of sick children and babies at Bristol Children’s Hospital. The charity’s new accommodation will provide a home from home to support as many as 150 families a year.
The Grand Appeal continues to fundraise tirelessly for Bristol Children's Hospital, funding life-saving medical equipment and pioneering new facilities that keep it among the very best in the country. As well as this, it funds patient-friendly artwork, playrooms and therapies to keep children’s comfort and wellbeing at the heart of the hospital. Bristol Children’s Hospital provides lifesaving treatment and care for up to 100,000 sick babies and children a year from across the largest geographic area of any children’s hospital in England. The specialist equipment and expertise available places it at the forefront of care for sick children, with the ability to treat some of the most complex and life-threatening conditions.
However, the exceptional quality of care available also means that more children from further afield are travelling to Bristol for treatment. This leaves an ever-greater number of families in need of somewhere to stay, and the amount of accommodation currently available is simply not enough to meet demand.
Nicola Masters, director, The Grand Appeal, said, “When a child is sick, the first thing they turn to is the comfort and support of their families. Their parents’ only concern is how they can make their child feel better, and when the illness is critical no parent could imagine being anywhere but by their child’s bedside. They need somewhere to stay close to the hospital so that they are always on hand to provide the love, familiarity and reassurance that is clinically proven to aid a child’s recovery.
“The cutting-edge facilities and specialist care available in Bristol means children from across an extensive area are transferred here for treatment. Far from home and the support of family and friends, finding a place to stay adds even more stress to the pressure of having a child who is critically ill. Many parents are forced to spend hours travelling to and from Bristol, when they could be spending that precious time with their child.”
The Grand Appeal already funds Cots for Tots House for parents of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at St Michael’s Hospital. The House is directly opposite the hospital and has hosted families from as far afield as Cornwall and Scotland in the last four years. Families have stayed for anything from one night to several months.
Nicola Masters continued, “Since we opened Cots for Tots House in 2012, we have provided free accommodation and support for more than 800 families of babies in the special care baby unit. Having somewhere to stay just minutes from their baby’s bedside is a lifeline for these families, and we now want to provide the same support to parents at Bristol Children’s Hospital.
“These families are already dealing with one of the most stressful experiences anyone could go through. By raising £1.5million through our Home from Home Appeal, we can make a difference at this most difficult of times.”
William Booth, matron/lead nurse, children’s critical care and cardiac services at Bristol Children’s Hospital, said, “Having their family close by has a clear impact on the child’s recovery and wellbeing, and I have seen all too frequently the struggle parents face if there is nowhere for them to stay.
“We are only able to accommodate one parent at the child’s bedside on wards and regularly hear from parents who have struggled to find somewhere to stay that is both close to the hospital and affordable, or face hours travelling to and from Bristol. This is even more of a problem when children arrive as emergency admissions.
“We know how grateful parents are when a room can be found for them, but the current provision is under so much strain that there are constant waiting lists. We wholeheartedly support The Grand Appeal’s Home from Home Appeal to fund more accommodation for Bristol Children’s Hospital.”
Joe Spurgeon and Elly Salisbury from Totterdown in Bristol stayed at Cots for Tots House for eight weeks when their twins Jay and Cormac were born three months prematurely. Sadly, Jay passed away at just four days old, and Cormac was diagnosed with chronic lung disease. Being able to stay so close to the hospital was vital when Cormac’s condition could have changed within minutes.
Joe Spurgeon, Elly Salisbury and Cormac in the garden of Cots for Tots House
Joe said, “It will be three years this August since we stayed in the house but I still remember it clearly. We were so scared, so confused and so tired, that to have someone provide us with somewhere clean, quiet and calm to stay was just the kindest thing anyone could have done. Our room became our home for those eight weeks.
“After Jay died being close to Cormac felt essential, and staying at the House made it all a bit easier to bear. Despite only living in Totterdown, we just needed to be near the hospital as his condition could have changed within minutes. If we hadn’t been lucky enough to be given a room I don’t know what we would have done.
“Perhaps one of the greatest benefits was the fact that there were other families in the house who understood what we were going through. We made lifelong friends during our stay and still see two of the families we met there most weeks.
“It’s hard to put into words just how much having that accommodation meant to us. It was there for us when we needed it most and neither of us will ever forget it.”
The Grand Appeal’s new family accommodation will include: a mixture of self-contained apartments and en-suite bedrooms, as well as kitchens, living rooms and laundry facilities. It will be available to families of patients on any ward at Bristol Children’s Hospital and will support around 150 families per year.
Nicola Masters, director, The Grand Appeal, continued, “As Joe and Elly’s experience shows, the accommodation is just as vital for families from Bristol as for those from further afield. When your child is fighting for their life, even a short drive across the city can feel an insurmountable distance. Our new Home from Home family accommodation will be within a minute’s walk of the hospital and provide a comfortable and welcoming environment, offering privacy and a chance to take time out from the stresses of their child’s treatment. Families will also benefit from an emotional and practical support network, including the house staff and The Grand Appeal’s Family Support Worker, so they can focus all their energies on being there for their sick child.
“We are now calling on our supporters across Bristol, the South West and South Wales to help us raise £1.5 million to make this Home from Home a reality. There are lots of ways you can get involved: you can make a donation to The Grand Appeal, organise your own fundraising event, or take part in one of our Wallace & Gromit themed events, including Wrong Trousers Day on Friday 24 June. With your help, we could open the doors to our first families as early as January next year.”
For more information on how you can support The Grand Appeal’s Home from Home Appeal, visit www.grandappeal.org.uk.
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Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
