Chox makes big impact (From Witney Gazette)

Chox makes big impact

8:15am Monday 7th January 2008 in Headlines By The Page Turner

A BIG 'thank-you' has been paid by 64,000 children who have been treated at Oxford's Children's Hospital during its first year.

Managers say the hospital's first 12 months have been a massive success and they are looking forward to their second year.

Now fundraisers at the hospital, on the John Radcliffe Hospital site in Headington, are urging residents to dig deep to find the £1.3m needed to reach their £15m fundraising target by the end of 2008.

The children's hospital, part of the West Wing at the John Radcliffe, opened last January.

And, as staff prepare for their second year, Alice Gosling, director of fundraising at Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Charitable Funds, said she would be thrilled if they could hit their target.

Mrs Gosling said she was delighted the county had a purpose-built children's hospital - especially as her three-year-old daughter Katy will be visiting for a check-up this month.

The mum of two, from Charlbury, said: "Katy might have a heart murmur so we are coming to the children's hospital to get it checked out.

"There is no better place to go for paediatric cardiology, it's such a great place.

"The GP was listening to her heart for a pre-school check-up and thought it sounded irregular, so obviously we need to check it."

Mrs Gosling said it had been "tremendously exciting" to see staff and patients move into the hospital, and hoped the fundraising drive would be stepped up throughout 2008.

Money raised could pay for priorities including laser technology costing £180,000, so that surgeons can carry out paediatric dermatology in the children's theatres, and £120,000 for portable ultrasound machines.

"The faster we can raise the money the better," Mrs Gosling added. "Sometimes corporate sponsors will donate £100,000 at a time, alongside all the fundraising in the community."

Terry Linford, from Witney, has been visiting the JR and now Chox with his son, Dominic, for the last six years.

He said: "The new hospital is fantastic and has made our lives much easier."

Peter Richards, consultant neurosurgeon, said transferring to the hospital had made a major difference to staff.

He said: "Most people I've come across, both in the adult side, the West Wing, and the children's hospital, have had smiles on their faces about the facilities available to us.

"The hospital as an entity is really beginning to gel.

"As far as my own speciality is concerned, it really has been a major advance - much easier to manage the very serious cases.

"General paediatricians, paediatric surgeons, paediatric intensive care, and tumour surgeons are now all under one roof.

"As we sometimes see on newsreel from war-zones, you can carry out operations anywhere, but it's the interaction between the different specialities that is so important.

"We have nursing staff, therapists, play specialists, the administrative staff, the people who clean, those who cook, the operating team - a huge, huge team.

"I still remember my days when I was in hospital for a couple of weeks as a child in the '50s - it was bleak.

"I was in an isolation room and my parents couldn't even come in and visit.

"You come here and often it's difficult to get the kids to go home!

"They have got a big, lovely play area outside, with lots of toys, beautiful bright rooms, and there are good facilities for the parents to sleep alongside.

"It is not a building that was built and then adapted for children - it was a building that was designed with children in mind and some aspects of the decoration were designed by children.

"So it is a totally different thing to what we adults would remember if we spent time in hospital as a child.

"In terms of the work, some of my highlights during the past year were where there were very ill children but the medical teams were interacting so well that treatment has been carried out much more swiftly, to the benefit of the child.

"For me personally, I had great fun showing around one of the Renault Formula One test drivers, who was going around talking to the kids and giving out baseball caps - because Renault have sponsored a play area and donated toys.

"Sadly, hospitals are a never-ending user of money and, although we do get money from the Government, it's never enough.

"So we are always on the look-out for funds to help us expand, support the children's welfare, buy new equipment and help us make medical advances.

"I'm most grateful for the money raised by the public - it firstly got the place built, and allowed us to build it as it should be built - to a really high standard."

Jake Spicer's fight

JAKE Spicer, 13, is one of thousands of youngsters who have visited the new children's hospital.

The teenager, a pupil at St Gregory the Great School in Cowley, has been fighting a rare bone cancer for the past four years and has needed chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.

He has suffered tumours in both legs and in his head and has undergone a number of operations.

His mother Lesley, 42, of Shepherd's Hill, Greater Leys, and father Michael, 45, have noticed the difference in the facilities for families compared with those at the John Radcliffe.

Mrs Spicer, pictured with Jake, said: "When we stayed overnight in the old hospital, we had to sleep on camp beds. Now parents can stay overnight in much more comfort and the facilities are 110 per cent better. There is also a comfort room where parents can meet and take time out."

Last month, Jake won a Cancer Research UK Little Star award after completing a fundraising triathlon for children with cancer.