HRH, The Duchess of Cambridge visits Great Ormond Street Hospital

HRH, The Duchess of Cambridge visited patients, families and hospital staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) today, Wednesday 17th January. Her Royal Highness visited to officially open the hospital’s new medical centre.The Mittal Children’s Medical Centre, which has 240 beds, spans two connecting wings, including the new Premier Inn Clinical Building. It will see children move out of old facilities and into brand new, modern wards with ensuite bedrooms where parents can stay comfortably with their child overnight.

Her Royal Highness spent time with cardiac patients, some of whom have spent months in hospital on pioneering heart devices, which help them to stay alive whilst they wait for a heart transplant. GOSH is just one of two centres in the UK to offer this treatment.

The Duchess also met children with rare and complex medical conditions who were taking part in an art activity. She joined them as they drew what they liked most about their bedrooms and the new facilities. The activity, which took place in one of the hospital’s playrooms, was facilitated by GOSH Arts, the hospital’s arts programme.

Great Ormond Street Hospital patient Oriel Gray, 14 from Brecon and her mum Fiona Gray, 49 also had a special visit from The Duchess. Oriel is in hospital recovering from surgery to reconstruct her ear. Oriel said of the meeting: “She was really friendly and very beautiful. I told her that the hospital feels like a second home because my mum can stay with me and I have my own bathroom. As a teenager that’s really important. The new ward is amazing and all the nurses and doctors make you feel welcome. After my surgery yesterday, it was great to take my mind off everything. She said I must be very brave.”

As many as 618 children arrive at GOSH with their families from across the UK, for treatment each day. There is growing demand for the hospital’s services and the new centre is part of the ongoing redevelopment of the hospital. It has been made possible thanks to Aditya and Megha Mittal, Premier Inn and Restaurants and generous supporters of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. It will offer state-of-the-art wards and surgical facilities, allowing the hospital to treat more children and provide an improved experience for patients and the families.

Speaking at the opening event, her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge said: “I just wanted to say a huge thank you for having me here today. It’s been my first trip to Great Ormond Street Hospital and I’ve been so impressed with everything I’ve seen and the scale of the work that’s going on here. It’s been wonderful to meet so many families and young people and I’ve been so inspired by their bravery and courage at such a difficult time. Really my main message is congratulations to you all from those guests from the building perspective and also for all of the supporters who are in the room today. It means so much to the families, both to the parents and the children and you can see the real family element that the hospital brings at such difficult times. So well done, huge congratulations and I wish it all the very best of success for the future. Thank you.”

Sir Michael Rake said: “As the new Chairman of Great Ormond Street Hospital, I couldn’t be more proud to be part of such a momentous occasion in the hospital’s history and I am delighted to welcome Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge here today.”

The Hospital’s Chief Executive Dr Peter Steer said: “We are honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cambridge to officially open the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre and Premier Inn Clinical Building. Thanks to our many generous supporters we are now able to care for patients and families in state-of-the art wards and surgical facilities, within a nurturing, homely environment.”

Aditya Mittal said of the event: “My wife, Megha, and I always wanted to support causes relating to child health, particularly after we had our own children. We’ve followed the progress of the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre closely as it’s taken shape and it has been wonderful to see it come to life. It has been an amazing journey for us and we’re so proud to have been a part of it. My family and I are confident that the patients and families who come here in the future will receive the best possible care, in the best possible space. And there can be no greater reward than that.”

Alison Brittain, Chief Executive Officer of Whitbread: “We are absolutely delighted to be celebrating this special occasion and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Premier Inn and Restaurants’ team members, customers and suppliers for their tremendous generosity in raising funds for this very special hospital. The Premier Inn Clinical Building will help the hospital and its amazing and dedicated teams of medical and nursing staff to provide the world-class care for which it’s renowned.”

The Duchess officially opened the new facilities 80 years after the hospital’s Southwood building was officially opened in 1938 by The Duke of Cambridge’s Great Grandparents, King George VI and The Queen Mother.

For media enquiries please contact Cassandra Miles on 0207 239 3126 or email Cassandra.miles@gosh.org

About Great Ormond Street Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity:

Great Ormond Street Hospital is one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals with the broadest range of dedicated, children’s healthcare specialists under one roof in the UK. The hospital’s pioneering research and treatment gives hope to children from across the UK with the rarest, most complex and often life-threatening conditions. Our patients and families are central to everything we do – from the moment they come through the door and for as long as they need us.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity needs to raise money to support the hospital to give seriously ill children, the best chance for life. The charity funds research into pioneering new treatments for children, provides the most up to date medical equipment, funds support services for children and their families and supports the essential rebuilding and refurbishment of the hospital. You can help us to provide world class care for our patients and families. Find out more.

Facts about Great Ormond Street Hospital

• Great Ormond Street Hospital opened on 14 February 1852 with just 10 beds and one ward.
• Every day 618 patients arrive at Great Ormond Street Hospital from right across the UK
• These children are referred to GOSH from their local hospitals for specialist care for rare and complex conditions.
• Around 50% of patients come for treatment from outside London. GOSH treats children with rare and complex conditions, and many of our patients suffer from life limiting or life-threatening conditions.
• The hospital is the largest centre for child heart surgery in the UK and one of the largest heart transplant centres for children in the world. Since the heart transplant programme began in 1988, GOSH has conducted more than 540 heart and/or lung transplants.
• The hospital has always depended on charitable support to maintain the very highest standards of care for seriously ill children. Money raised by GOSH Charity helps to fund pioneering research to find kinder treatments, the latest equipment and the essential refurbishment of the hospital to provide state-of-the-art facilities to match the hospital’s world-class care.

About the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre:

• The completion of the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre, which includes the new Premier Inn Clinical Building has transformed the hospital. The centre spans two connecting wings with a total of 240 beds, a new surgery centre, and modern facilities to help give children the best possible outcome.
• Thanks to voluntary donations, it offers state-of-the-art facilities, allowing the hospital to treat more children and provide an improved experience for patients and the families.
• The Mittal Children’s Medical Centre is named in recognition of the generous support of Aditya and Megha Mittal and family.
• Skanska project managed the construction of the building and the architect of the building is Llewelyn Davies. The completion of the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre, will see most of the acute inpatients move out of the hospital’s Southwood building. The Southwood building will continue to be used for inpatients and administrative facilities.

About the Premier Inn Clinical Building:

• The brand new Premier Inn Clinical Building is housed within the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
• The building offers 141 beds including single bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms where there is space for a parent to stay overnight.
• Premier Inn and Restaurants team members, customers and suppliers have fundraised for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity since 2012.

About the virtual reality experience at the official reception:

• You can explore the centre with our immersive virtual reality (VR) experience using a VR cardboard headset or via YouTube
• All guests were provided with a VR cardboard headset to share the enormous impact of their generous donations with their friends, families and colleagues.
• We have brought to life five areas of the new centre so that viewers can experience:
  • Four young patients receiving dialysis treatment for their kidney conditions in a dedicated bay area that allows nurses to closely monitor them.
  • A world-class surgical team operating on six-month-old Seth in one of our state-of-the-art theatres.
  • Patients Tristan and Rupert in one of our play rooms with Play Specialist Denise, who helps to prepare children and young people for life-saving procedures using play techniques.
  • Three-year-old Rupert with his mum and dad in a sensory room, designed to stimulate the sense through the use of light, colour, sound and visual effects.
  • Ten-year-old Tamieka making music with a musician from GOSH Arts, the hospital's arts programme, in a spacious en-suite room where her mum or dad can stay overnight.