In Touch - The Alder Hey Philanthropy Newsletter #3

In Touch

Philanthropy Newsletter

Welcome

LANTH R O P Y

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As the days grow shorter and the evenings darker, I have been reflecting on my first year working at Alder Hey. Every morning when I arrive at the hospital, I feel privileged to be surrounded by passionate and dedicated colleagues who all care so deeply about the children, young people and their families who we

help each day. And behind all of this is you and your continued commitment and support, making it possible for us to create magic for our patients and make their time with us as best as it possibly can be.

to keep families together and able to bond with their newborn when it’s most needed. You can read about the completion of our 7in10 Children’s Mental Health

I have been very fortunate to meet many of you over the last 12 months and hope to meet many more in the future. It is always my pleasure to showcase the work we do at Alder Hey and demonstrate the incredible difference your donations and funding make to everyone here. Our doors are always open so please get in touch if you would like to experience it for yourself.

In this newsletter we are delighted to share Sam’s story. Sam is one of our neonatal babies who benefitted from some of the lifesaving equipment that we are raising funds for with our Surgical Neonatal Appeal. The new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is planned for completion in 2024 and will be the first of its kind in the UK, with facilities and technology designed

Appeal, with the Catkin and Sunflower House opening and welcoming patients imminently. We have also included details of other projects and initiatives that we are able to support with your generous donations and funding. The breadth of work that is possible at Alder Hey because of your kindness is incredible and the difference you make is amazing, thank you from our Alder Hey family to yours for everything you do.

Tracey Wilson Head of Philanthropy

All children have the right to breathe

Liverpool has some of the highest rates of deprivation in the UK, with 50% of children living in poverty in some areas. Living in poverty impairs lung development and determines health in childhood and adulthood. Childhood is a window of opportunity to improve the lifelong health of a generation.

For a child in Liverpool, the risk of admission to hospital for bronchiolitis and asthma is significantly higher than the UK average. The poorest children are twice as likely to develop diseases and become acutely unwell. Alder Hey is tackling this with a new, unique centre of excellence called Lab to Life.

Lab to Life worked alongside Sir Michael Marmot’s team at the Institute for Health Equity to create the “Fuel poverty, cold homes and health inequalities” report, published in September 2022. The review provides evidence and recommendations for Local Authorities facing challenges in keeping their citizens safe this winter. It predicts a significant health, social

and education detriment for a new generation of children without effective interventions.

Lab to Life’s vision is to use data and Artificial Intelligence to protect the right of children to live their best life - starting in Liverpool, spreading to the UK, and then globally. This includes reducing avoidable death and suffering in children, improving life expectancy and preventing illness and hospitalisation.

Our Bronchiolitis Parent Champions programme employs 12 Parent Champions with lived experience to work in Children’s Centres within their own communities in Liverpool. They have so far reached over 3,000 families and expectant mums in Liverpool to raise awareness around recognising and managing bronchiolitis, and provide support regarding social causes of bronchiolitis. They have received training from Citizen’s Advice and Shelter as well as Alder Hey. Real time mapping of bronchiolitis hospital visits is undertaken and the data gathered is used to monitor the impact on respiratory statistics.

Parent Champion

The pioneering Clean Air Clinic, led by Professor Sinha and supported by Lab to Life, receives referrals from services in Alder Hey and has supported families across the country. The clinic is the first of its kind, looking at the ‘big picture’ for children with respiratory symptoms which are driven by their environment.

Lab to Life is creating collaborative working relationships with data experts across the country to answer important questions on how inequality in the UK affects our children’s lungs.

For more information about Lab to Life please contact Tracey Wilson tracey.wilson@alderhey.nhs.uk

We can help parents in lots of ways, giving them reasons to trust us because they know we’ve helped with food vouchers, heating, smoking, so they can trust our advice about bronchiolitis

Our Surgical Neonatal Appeal

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My name is Jen Deeney and I am Head of Nursing for the Liverpool Neonatal Partnership, a collaborative project between Liverpool Women’s and Alder Hey Children’s Hospitals. We are just starting to build our brand new Surgical Neonatal Unit (NICU) on site at Alder Hey, the first of its kind in the UK. The unit will be dedicated to keeping families together when it matters most with ensuite accommodation for parents alongside their baby.

“Sam was born in May 2020 when I was only 24 weeks pregnant. He weighed just 790g and could fit in his dad’s hand. Sam required two major operations to save his life and multiple surgeries to save his sight at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. As Sam was extremely premature, we spent the first four months of his life at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, living out of our bags and worried what each day might bring. Many times, my husband Martin and I were told that Sam may not make it through the night, and we had to be prepared for losing our first child.

To access the specialist care and surgery that Sam needed, he had to be transferred between hospitals six times. For a baby as tiny and fragile as Sam, this was an extremely worrying process. He had to be stabilised in a transport ventilator for an hour before each journey and then travel by critical care ambulance without us due to COVID restrictions at the time.

time that Sam needed us both. It would have allowed us to feel a slight sense of normality having our own living space in which to bond as a family in those early days, knowing that every expert was on hand.

Whilst in intensive care, Sam stopped breathing and turned blue. His ventilator pipe that was keeping him alive had moved in his chest. Our nurse pressed the emergency buzzer and doctors and nurses from all over the ward came flying into the room. They used a Neopuff to resuscitate our little boy and yet again saved his life.”

I’d like to tell you about Sam, whose life was saved multiple times by our NHS heroes. His mum Zalena told us about their experience:

A Surgical Neonatal Unit like the one being built at Alder Hey would have meant we could have stayed together as a family at the

When every minute is fragile and precious, having access to state-of-the-art equipment like this gives parents like me so much more hope.

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Sam’s mum, Zalena

I think that Zalena’s words show why having access to the best available technology is so important when caring for extremely premature and sick babies. Our tiny patients and their amazing families inspire us everyday to always go above and beyond.

Alder Hey Charity’s Surgical Neonatal Appeal is raising vital funds to enhance the NICU and fund the life-saving equipment needed, like Neopuffs. The Neopuff resuscitator is the gold standard piece of equipment used for resuscitation of newborn babies at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. It is safer for use on neonatal babies as it is designed to protect and minimise damage to their tiny lungs, and it allows for much more detailed adjustments to be made compared to the standard resuscitation equipment.

These life saving devices are in use at Liverpool Women’s now, but more are needed to use immediately at Alder Hey and will move to the new NICU when it is completed.

Sam needed round the clocksupportwhen he was f rst bo r n.

For more information about how you can support the appeal and details of other neonatal equipment the charity is funding please contact:

Tracey Wilson, Head of Philanthropy tracey.wilson@alderhey.nhs.uk

Sam was one of the star models on our 2021 PJ Campaign.

Alder Hey Children’s Charity’s

7

in 10

Mental Health Appeal

As we look to the future, we will continue to share the impact our new hub is having widely across the healthcare community.

This building represents a really important step forward and we are confident and excited that it will not only transform the lives of children here at Alder Hey, but for children living with mental health challenges across the country

Lisa Cooper, Director of Children and Young People, Community & Mental Health

Filled with natural light, child-friendly finishing touches and access to safe and secure garden spaces, our new Mental Health Hub really is a very special place.

This transformational project brings together inpatient and outpatient support on the Alder Hey healthcare campus for the first time.

This sends a clear message that the experiences of children who are living with mental health conditions are important and valued.

Sunflower House

The new inpatient unit, Sunflower House provides a home from home with 12-bedrooms for children with the most complex conditions. As children will spend long periods of time in our care, these rooms will be vitally important to their treatment journeys, providing a calming private space where they can feel safe and secure. We also have a unique diner-style canteen complete with juke box graphics and colourful American diner style seating. With classrooms, therapy rooms and child-friendly secure bedrooms complete with mood lighting

Sunflower House has set a new benchmark for residential mental health care.

We have also created a truly inspiring therapy garden within Sunflower House. Situated in a central courtyard, the garden will provide children with access to outdoor space throughout their treatment journeys. The gardens are multi-use and have been designed to support children to: relax, learn, play, and even lead on their own gardening projects.

Catkin Centre

As you walk into our outpatients centre, you are greeted by a welcoming reception area which features a central dome at its heart, bringing natural light into the space. With lots of soft seating and distraction facilities, the area is purposely different to any traditional healthcare setting and will provide much needed comfort to young people visiting the unit for therapy appointments.

The Catkin Centre waiting area.

You’ve done something remarkable. Thank you. We would not have been able to realise our ambition for children’s mental health at Alder Hey without your support.

Magic – Arts for Health

This summer, we saw the conclusion of Sound, a three-year music project for in-patients funded by Children In Need. Over 800 children and young people have benefitted from one-to-one sessions with professional musicians, supporting their mental well-being and helping them to cope with hospital stays.

feels really good, especially since my family found it funny.”

Many of our patients are struggling with long-term life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses, as well as complex mental health conditions. Alder Hey’s highly successful Arts for Health programme uses arts and creativity as a model of therapy to support the social and emotional wellbeing of young people who face long term hospital stays and miss out on school and hobbies. “It was so calming and creative. I love learning new things. Today’s music made me forget about my surroundings and occupied and distracted my mind.” Jess, age 15.

Last year, we delivered over 1,000 workshops, worked with over 6,000 patients directly and delivered 15 major partnership projects.

In July, Sound was the highlight of a live broadcast from Alder Hey on BBC Breakfast, presented by Owain Wyn Evans.

Alongside some of our patients, Owain announced the Children in Need Appeal

Night fundraising total live from Alder Hey’s gardens.

Other highlights this year have included delivering the first year of Framing Our Futures, exploring photography, animation and filmmaking to support mental health, and launching HospiTales, a specially created comic book which tells the stories of our patients in their own words and drawings.

Our flagship music programme Music Matters is now in its 5th year and continues to demonstrate the positive influence that live participatory music has on children’s wellbeing, physical ability and emotional state. Music Matters has seen 80% of patients significantly improve their confidence, with 90% of patients saying that the session helped them relax and 95% saying that it significantly improved being in hospital.

Patients’ families have also expressed delight in the effect of music on their loved ones, 4-year-old Eddie’s grandparent described the programme as “Heartful, uplifting, fun, soothing. Eddie has never heard a cello before or seen a live musician perform. The musician was very intuitive with my grandson and sensitive to his needs. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.”

Emma, age 13, has cerebral palsy and thoroughly enjoyed participating in the creation of HospiTales: “I’ve become a lot more confdent with my drawing and writing and having one of my stories featured in Hospi-Tales: A Year of Stories from Alder Hey

Spotlight on Arts for Health

How long have you been at Alder Hey?

I’ve been at Alder Hey since 2006 – a long time! Since then the programme has developed exponentially, and arts are at the heart of what makes a really positive experience of Alder Hey. We deliver around 50 arts workshops every month with patients and work with some of the biggest arts organisations in the region such as Tate Liverpool, Everyman and Playhouse Theatres, National Museums Liverpool. We cover all areas of the hospital, from Emergency Department to Critical Care and everything in-between, including a broad range of arts such as dance, music, visual arts, photography, animation, cartoons, performance, drama and creative writing. There’s something for everyone.

Meet Vicky Charnock, Arts Coordinator here at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. We caught up with Vicky to find out more about her important role and her vision for every child in Alder Hey to have a positive experience of the arts.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I’m fortunate to work with the most incredible team of professional arts practitioners, who care deeply about the children and young people they work with in the hospital and who are truly dedicated to giving them the best possible experience of the arts. And I’m in awe of the inspiring children and their families that I meet, many of whom are facing huge challenges but always remain positive. There is nothing better than seeing a child’s face light up when they take part in the arts, or hearing how the arts have helped a child with their treatment.

Can you describe a typical day?

No two days are the same, the job is incredibly varied and fulfilling. I spend a lot of time with our fantastic team of freelance professional artists and musicians, preparing them for delivering activities on the wards or installing artwork into the building. I talk to children and young people about what they want from their arts programme, and how they feel about what they’ve experienced in their arts sessions and evaluate how it has helped them to be in hospital. And I collaborate with colleagues at Alder Hey Children’s Charity to secure ongoing funding for our programmes.

What is your vision for arts at Alder Hey?

The pandemic has had a major impact on children’s mental wellbeing and our focus is to support as many patients as we can through social prescribing programmes and working closely with our Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team, to address this. We also have plans to expand the team and programme further, so we can increase the number of patients who can experience arts for health, whether it’s a workshop, a performance or discovering the artwork around the building. We believe that the arts are there to benefit everybody.

The magic of the outdoors

Many of our young patients with mental health difficulties and neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), find traditional clinical support very challenging. This often leads to young people feeling reluctant to attend appointments. Many will withdraw from their schools completely, and others spend many hours alone in their rooms away from family members and without contact with their peers. This social isolation causes intense loneliness and can have long term implications for mental health as children and young people make the transition into adulthood.

To address this challenge and ensure that every young person who needs help is provided with timely and professional mental health care, our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services have identified a solution through a brand-new project called Base Camp. This is a new way of engaging patients,

enabling young people to access alternative therapies outdoors in a more natural and informal environment with an emphasis on play, creativity and problem solving as a model of therapy.

Base Camp will be an attractive outdoor Dome specifically designed so that it does not intimidate or deter people from attending appointments. Children, young people and their families can come together in the space to take part in individual or group naturebased activities and therapeutic art projects. Activities will be focused on improving mental health and physical wellbeing, and support a wide range of social, emotional and practical needs.

It is well known that green outdoor activities can reduce stress, improve sleep, and reduce symptoms of depression. Green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in children significantly more than activities conducted in other settings. The Dome will enable staff to facilitate exposure to nature - experienced in a wide variety of forms including gardening, viewing nature slides, using natural resources to make bird boxes, bug houses, and windchimes, and simply being surrounded by the outdoors. Base Camp will provide year-round provision for this service with therapeutic activities continuing through the winter months.

If you would like more information about how you can support this project, please get in touch:

tracey.wilson@alderhey.nhs.uk

Our aim is to support a sense of belonging in an environment which young people can understand and where they can feel safe, secure and supported

Being a new parent can be an emotionally demanding experience, even at the best of times, but when a new baby needs high levels of medical care, these challenges are intensified.

Through The Lullaby Project we empower families to create their own personal lullabies for their babies, increasing parent and child bonding during the most difficult of circumstances. Specialist musicians work one to one with families to develop the themes and structure for their lullabies, ensuring that

each composition reflects the uniqueness of each family. The musician will also support families with simple bonding techniques using music and singing. This is hugely beneficial in supporting the early development of babies and the mental wellbeing of parents.

The Lullaby Project The Mementos Project

At the end of each family’s participation in ‘The Lullaby Project’, families can record their lullaby as a lasting memento of the project, so they can continue to experience it both whilst in hospital and when they are back at home, helping the wider family bond with their new member.

Our dedicated Palliative Care team provide compassionate and professional support to families who have experienced or are facing the death of a child.

Constantly striving to deliver the best care, the team are always looking for additional ways to meet the needs of parents who find themselves in such difficult and stressful circumstances. One approach the team has identified is the powerful impact of families being able to create and capture precious memories of their child. Thanks to your generous support, the team has created

The Mementos Project.

Available to all, parents wishing to take part in the project will be presented with a special box, in which to hold treasured silver charms, pottery plates and art canvas, which delicately capture their child’s hand or footprint. In addition to their personal photographs, families also have the opportunity to include photographs taken by a dedicated professional photographer at no additional charge.

Through this project, we can help parents build precious memories with their child.