In Touch - The Alder Hey Philanthropy Newsletter #2 by Alder Hey Children's Charity

Issue #2

In Touch Philanthropy Newsletter

We have also included an update on our Surgical Neonatal Appeal, with construction starting over the coming months. It’s an honour to work on such a ground breaking campaign with our

As ever I am here to answer any questions, either by phone, email or in person – we would love to welcome you to visit the hospital and see the work that you make possible. From keeping poorly tiny babies

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Alder Hey is dedicated to going the extra mile to support the physical and mental health of every brave young patient who needs us. We pride ourself on a childcentred approach and support the whole family to give their child the best start in life, from birth to early adulthood. Every penny raised through Alder Hey Charity’s current appeals will deliver access to the best possible equipment and facilities, above and beyond what is available on our hard-working NHS.

restrictions at the beginning of the year we have been able push ahead with our event plans, including our Brighter Futures Art Exhibition and Auction in March. Sincere thanks to everyone that supported this initiative, which was one of the final activities to close our 7in10 Children’s Mental Health Appeal. The new and much needed mental health unit is due to start welcoming patients later this year, you can read more about our progress in this newsletter.

I hope that you are enjoying the longer days and bursts of sunshine that spring has given us. It’s been a very busy few months at Alder Hey Children’s Charity. With the easing of

inspiring Neonatal colleagues. The new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) will make a life changing difference to families, keeping them together and nurturing their bond with their newborn when it’s most needed. Find out more about our exclusive Neonatal Appeal Webinar on page 5!

Welcome

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close to their loved ones, to providing a home from home for young people with complex and enduring mental health conditions, the difference you make is amazing, so a big thank you for your hugely appreciated ongoing support.

Tracey Wilson Head of Philanthropy

We are supporting a new Optos ultra-widefield eye camera One of the projects Alder Hey Charity will be supporting is a new Optos ultra-widefield eye camera that will increase the early detection and diagnosis of visual and life-threatening conditions in our young eye patients.

The Optos is a patient friendly, retinal camera that has revolutionised paediatric ophthalmology. It is a quick and efficient way to carry out a detailed eye examination, reducing the need for restraint of the baby or child and in turn, reducing fear and anxiety. The camera will also minimise the need for some children to be examined under general anaesthesia. Based on a review of our patients treated in 2019, the Optos machine could reduce the number of children requiring investigation under anesthetic by 48%. In a conventional retinal photograph, the time required to setup, focus and capture the image can be around 10 to 15 seconds. Optos is much quicker to focus and only requires a child to fixate for less than a second. The speed of focus and image capture is 0.25 seconds. In children’s healthcare, grabbing a child’s attention for 15 seconds versus less than 1 second makes a world of difference especially if the child is very young or has learning difficulties.

The Optos machine enables a digital high-definition view of the patient’s retina, referred to as an “optomap”. The “optomap” image allows viewing of up to 200 degrees of the retina in one image, where a conventional camera allows visualization of only 60 degrees. The camera is the only device on the market that produces high resolution images of approximately 82% of the retina. This ultra-wide field view of the retina significantly increases the early identification of disease. The Optos machine will help Alder Hey to continue to deliver the highest level of care for our brave young patients and facilitate opportunities for research in the future.

If you would like more information please get in touch tracey.wilson@alderhey.nhs.uk

Betty was born more than four months premature in June 2017, weighing 650g and just the size of a biro. She needed constant treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Our latest appeal is raising funds for a stateof-the-art unit for newborn babies and their families. The new Surgical Neonatal Unit is a joint project between Alder Hey and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, offering 22 neonatal cots and 18 individual family rooms where parents can be alongside their poorly newborns whilst they’re receiving expert care. Raising awareness of our appeal to keep families close to their tiny babies got off to a winning start at this year’s Grand National Festival. The Jockey Club nominated our brave patient, four year old Betty, to be the honorary 41st runner which saw her name appear around the racecourse and in the race card on the day.

Parents Phil and Karen, of Warrington, were left devastated when doctors discovered that Betty’s bowel had perforated in two places, leaving her so ill she had to be transferred to Alder Hey Hospital by ambulance for emergency surgery. Betty needed numerous transfers between the two hospitals to get the care she required; every journey was a risk and caused stress and worry for her family. Our new unit will bring dedicated services and experts from both hospitals together under one roof at Alder Hey. Determined to reunite their family and bring Betty home to be with her brother and sister, Stanley and Martha, Betty’s parents were helped by the dedicated team of professionals at Alder Hey, who trained them to have

the knowledge and skills to deal with her tracheostomy and other medical needs. It meant Betty could finally go home for the first time after 13 months in hospital. Betty’s father, Phil, said: “Betty is just amazing. She is the most delightful, placid and brave little girl. A nurse once said to us, Betty brings out the best in people. Betty’s journey will continue with the remarkable NHS that saved her countless times. She is our little miracle and no matter what comes we will all continue to love her with everything we have and with utter joy and immense gratitude to those who never gave up on her and gave us this most precious gift.” By supporting our Surgical Neonatal Appeal, you will be helping to provide a home from home for babies like Betty, where families can stay alongside their babies day and night, whilst they receive the expert care they need.

Betty brings out the best in people. Betty’s journey will continue with the remarkable NHS that saved her countless times

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Appeal web onatal inar e N ! al

We are delighted to offer the chance to hear from Jim O’Brien, the Capital Project Manager and Jennifer Deeney, Head of Neonatal Nursing at an online webinar on Tuesday 21 June 1 – 2pm. They will be sharing why it’s so important to put families at the centre of care and how the unit has been designed to make this possible. This unique opportunity will give you the chance to hear directly from the project’s experts it’s an event not to be missed.

To book your complimentary place please email charli.canfer@alderhey.nhs.uk 5

Spring has sprung here on our healthcare campus and our new buildings, the Catkin Centre and Sunflower House, are at a very exciting stage of completion. Your support for our 7in10 Children’s Mental Health Appeal is helping us to create brighter futures and inspiring hope here at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. We caught up with Kieron O’Toole, Project Manager, for an update on the construction, fit out and landscaping of the new Mental Health buildings:

The new Catkin Centre and Sunflower House development is now on the finishing straight in being ready for completion. There are many dedicated teams working all over the building completing final fix mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations, final fix joinery and finishes. Preparations are well underway with the fixed furniture and landscaping, and decorations have also commenced. This is a very exciting time for the Trust as we start our preparations for commissioning and the team moves that will be planned over the coming months, so we are ready to for the building to become fully operational later this year.

This year we are also celebrating 20 years of Alder Hey’s partnership with the Jockey Club, who are currently supporting our 7in10 appeal. As part of this year’s Grand National Festival, we hosted a wonderful visit from champion racehorse Neptune Collonges and our Jockey Club friends, bringing lots of smiles to children and their families on our park campus.

Thank you to all our supporters who got behind our first ever art exhibition and auction in March. The exhibition was held at Merseyside Maritime Museum in aid of our 7in10 Children’s Mental Health Appeal. Works by artists including Yoko Ono, Anne Desmet and Frieda Hughes were sold at auction, helping us to raise vital funds towards

our £3m target. Turn to page 9 to read about the amazing artwork created by our patients for the exhibition too! Thank you again for your dedication to children and young people, today and in the future, through your kind support of our mental health appeal.

We are delighted to attend RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year to showcase our very own garden, the Alder Hey Urban Foraging Station.

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Designed by H. Miller Brothers, the Alder Hey Urban Foraging Station is a woven landscape; it is about weaving together the young and old, green and urban, play and learning and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital with its community. At its core is the aspiration to inspire children to lead active, healthy, happy lives. The garden is infused with the magic of discovery inherent to foraging. Visitors will first encounter the garden as nostalgic glimpses through rampant, blossoming hedgerows. Within, a sense of freedom prevails; explore, ‘leave the path’, get lost in your own world. A design language of woven forms associated with foraging are abstracted into a woven landscape. Precast concrete ‘strands’ make up a picnic blanket laid over an undulating landscape with edible herbs growing through.

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We were really keen to work with Alder Hey to make a garden that celebrates the amazing work they do supporting children and their families. We’re a family business, local to the Hospital and many of our family and friends have benefited from Alder Hey’s care; they’re a big part of our community. It’s a real privilege too that we can move the garden back to Alder Hey where it will become a living resource for children and medical practitioners to use for social prescribing and other informal therapies.

After the show, the garden will be relocated to the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. It will be positioned just outside the entrance to Sunflower House, our new building dedicated to children and young people’s mental health services on our unique paediatric healthcare campus. The Alder Hey Urban Foraging Station Garden is one of 12 Show Gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 that has been funded by Project Giving Back to promote good causes while supporting the horticultural industry. For more information please visit

www.alderheycharity.org/ chelsea-flower-show

Brighter Futures We know, based on first-hand experience of our Arts for Health programme, that art and creativity can have a transformative effect on mental health and wellbeing. This inspired us to organise our Brighter Futures art exhibition and auction in aid of our 7 in 10 Children’s Mental Health Appeal. Celebrated artists from across the globe submitted work for display and sale, alongside one very special artwork created by our patients. British artist Rachael Howard worked with long term patients at the hospital to create their own artwork through printmaking. The individual pieces have been interconnected to produce a single striking piece titled “My favourite word is...Animals, Axolotl, Cookie, Happy, Marble, Monkey, Peppa pig, Sloth, Summer, Sunshine, Toothless and Unique”. This unique opportunity was met with great excitement from the young people involved in the project and they also enjoyed creating their own pieces to keep and take home with them.

Rachael Howard told us “It’s been such fun sharing the joy of screen printing with the children on the wards. Their delighted faces when a print is revealed is a wonderful sight. The collaborative artwork brings together all of the favourite words each child printed, taking shape in the form of a cheerful yellow sun.”

Joshua and Isaac’s story

“It’s not possible to stay all the time - I have to do the school run twice a day. Debbie, our Play Specialist, will work with Joshua while I am out so that he isn’t on his own. When Joshua would go to theatre, Debbie would take Isaac so that I could accompany him. When we have met with Joshua’s doctors the Play Specialists would always stay with the boys. The Play team will always check and see if there is anything they can do to make the day more fun for the twins, and their 6-yearold brother Benjamin.

Joshua was born with complex conditions affecting his heart, digestion and breathing. By 12 weeks old he’d had surgery and two procedures to stabilise him to grow big enough for open heart surgery.

Sensory play is also important to the boys’ time at Alder Hey. With the twins at different levels in their development their needs are also different. Lisa, the boys’ Play Specialist, will set up play stations for Isaac with cars and trucks whilst giving Joshua cause-and-effect toys like drums - the noisier and brighter the better!”

Being a long-term family comes with lots of challenges, but the Alder Hey Play team have made their journey much easier. The twins’ mum, Charlie, told us.

Joshua and Isaac love our Ward Musicians, too. Musicians create magical memories for families like theirs and are funded entirely by donations to Alder Hey Charity.

The Magic of Play Alder Hey Charity helps to fund Play Specialist salaries and the toys and resources needed to deliver our vital Play Service.

Twins Joshua and Isaac have been part of the Alder Hey family since they were just 7 hours old.

Spotlight on Research and Innovation Bringing you closer to the action here at Alder Hey! Meet John Chester, Director of Research and Innovation here at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. We caught up with John to find out more about his vital role and his vision for healthier futures for our brave young patients.

How long have you been at Alder Hey?

I arrived at Alder Hey in July 2021 having spent nearly 20 years as a clinical academic. I am a dually-qualified Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Science who has specialised in delivering chemotherapy to (adult) patients with cancer and in leading research, both in clinical trials and in the laboratory. Although I was born and bred in Lancashire, my career has been in various cities in England, Wales and Scotland, with the last 10 years as a clinical professor at Cardiff University, and 15 years before that in Leeds. 10

Can you describe a typical day?

You won’t be surprised to hear that my working life is extremely varied – that’s part of the fun of what I’m privileged to be able to do at Alder Hey. Like most people in the Trust, the great majority of my working life is spent helping to make things happen which benefit the health and care of children and young people – primarily those who live locally, but also those with similar health problems and care needs, around the world. I’m doubly lucky that my role in research and innovation means that I can help two sets of patients: those in the present; and those who will benefit in the future from the advances which we bring about through new drugs, new devices and new technologies.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

It took me quite a while to realise that I get most satisfaction from bringing people together in a common purpose – building teams which achieve more together than could be achieved separately. That’s an old cliché, but no less true for that. I can’t think of a better shared goal than improving the health and care of future generations, and I

don’t know of many better teams than my outstanding colleagues and teammates at Alder Hey. It’s a great reason for getting out of bed in the morning!

What is your vision for Research and Innovation at Alder Hey?

Alder Hey is already known for the outstanding quality of services which we deliver for the children and young people of Liverpool and our region – we have recently been named by Newsweek magazine as one of the world’s top 10 children’s hospital. I’d also like us to be known for creating healthier futures for the patients we serve, and for future patients who may not even have been born yet. I firmly believe that our Researchers and Innovators at Alder Hey really are uniquely placed to be world-class in doing that.

If you are interested in supporting Research and Innovation here at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, please contact Tracey to find out more tracey.wilson@alderhey.nhs.uk

Alder Active We are proud to support the development of a £40,000 bespoke programme called Alder Active; a supportive and innovative way to empower children and their families to lead healthier and more active lives. This new service encourages outpatients to engage in supervised exercise sessions through the support of qualified healthcare professionals, with a long-term goal of accessing community-based projects.

health conditions. Another goal is to provide a bridge from hospital clinics and inpatient facilitate to community partners and clubs in the families’ local areas.

have been purchased containing exercise mats, bean bags, resistance bands, cones, skipping ropes, a water bottle and activity cards to support their progress.

The programme costs includes salaries for a Physiotherapist to oversee the service, as well as an Exercise Physiologist to provide therapy assistance throughout the 12 month project. In addition to staffing, 256 activity boxes

Thank you for your support in helping to create healthier futures for our young people.

The service is being delivered by Alder Hey healthcare professionals to educate and inspire children to increase their physical activity levels. Children with chronic health conditions require an encouraging and safe environment to exercise and often face many barriers. These can include a lack of confidence to exercise and access community sessions, feeling a sense of stigma among their peers and socio-economic factors such as lack of funding to access exercise resources and clubs. The project aims to set goals with children and their family and provide education, including physical activity recommendations and safe, inclusive activities for certain 11

Thank You

On behalf of everyone at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, thank you for helping us to create bright futures for babies, children and young people.

T R ACE Y WI LS O N He a d o f Ph i l a nt h ro p y t r a c e y.w i l s o n @a l d e r h e y. n h s . uk 07 903 70 53 3 1

KAT H GR ES LOW Phila nthrop y & Ev e nt s Fun d r a i s e r kath.greslow@alderhey.nhs.uk

AMANDA JONES Trus t s and Foundat i ons Manag er amanda.jones@alderhey.nhs.uk 07887 98731 1

A L A N N E W T O N-F R E N C H Tr ust s a nd Foundat i ons Fundrai s er a l a n . n e w ton- f rench@ al derhey. nhs . uk 0796 8 84 5 338

CHARLI CANFER Trus t s and Foundat i ons Off ic er charl i . canf er@ al derhey.nhs.uk