Monthly Friday evening conference call meeting

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.

The Dunmow Rotary monthly Friday evening virtual meeting with family and friends was joined this month by Clive Mear, a Volunteer Community Ambassador for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.  He gave a very informative and passionate presentation about Great Ormond Street Hospital for sick Children and the work of the GOSH charity, who he was representing.

The GOSH charity provides support and care beyond that which the NHS can provide for both the sick children and their families.

The Hospital was founded by Dr Charles West and was officially opened on 14th February 1852, at 49 Great Ormond Street with just 20 beds. The Hospitals motto is and always has been “The Child, First and Always”  The Hospital struggled initially, but was put back on track following an article written by Charles Dickens, a friend of Dr Charles West, which helped to allay peoples’ initial concerns about the hospital.  In addition Queen Victoria became the Hospital’s first Royal Patron, which also helped people gain confidence in the Hospital.

In 1875 a new clinical block opened with 100 beds, showing the growing demand for the Hospital. Today the Hospital has 455 beds.

In 1929 Sir J. M. Barrie donated the copyrights of Peter Pan to the Hospital, who to this day still receive an income from copyrights, and the Hospital has become affectionately known as the Peter Pan Hospital.

In 1946 Dr Mildred Creak became the Hospital’s first female consultant, she was a Child Psychiatrist and developed the mental wellbeing side of the hospitals care of both the patients and their families.

In the 1990’s the “Wishing Well Appeal” was launched raising £45M to help fund a new building which opened on February 14th 1994. The building was opened by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales.  The GOSH charity of today evolved from that initial appeal.

Pioneering research for children - supported by the GOSH charity has included :-

The use of the first heart & lung bypass machine in 1962.

The first bone marrow transplant in 1980.

The first child heart transplant in 1988.

The first use of T-Cell Therapy to tackle previously untreatable cancers in 2015.

The first Pre-natal surgery to treat Spina bifida to reduce the impact of this disease in 2018.

The hospital currently has 60 nationally recognised medical specialists, 4,700 staff supporting a total of 300,000 patient admissions and appointments each year. GOSH doesn’t have an A&E department, but takes referred patients from other Hospitals all over the country, not just in the London area.

The GOSH charity provides the additional support which is outside the normal scope of the NHS and relies on donations, volunteering and the leaving of a gift in a Will,  all of which have been and are being used to support -

The building of the New medical centre opened in January 2018.

The use of leading edge equipment.

Patient & family accommodation locally with 100 rooms, essential for families who need to be with their child and live outside easy travelling distance of the Hospital.

Play teams to support and educate the children and give some relief to parents.

Chaplaincy & spiritual care covering multiple faiths.

Research facilities at GOSH, which typically has 644 research studies active everyday.

Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, which opened in 2019, this is unique in the World.

A new development is the visual and hearing impairment facility, for what is the largest group of patients, with nearly 3000 outpatient visits per month. The charity is helping to fundraise for the transformation of an existing building into a new Sight and Sound unit.

Although children have generally been less affected by COVID, GOSH has seen a greater intake of patients transferring from other Hospitals, in order to make more adult beds available in those hospitals.  However, the charity has funded rapid testing equipment for COVID, negotiated free parking accommodation and staff meals throughout the pandemic period in order to help the staff through very difficult times. 

Looking into the future surgeons are now using 3D printing techniques to make body parts and exact personalised models of body parts to practise on prior to surgery.  In addition the use of Gene therapy to correct genetic abnormalities.

The charity has seen a drop in income of around 13% during the pandemic, so donations are needed even more in these times to ensure they can continue to maintain the excellent care and support they provide.

For further information please visit their website at https://www.gosh.org/

To make a donation please visit their website at https://www.gosh.org/donate/

To make a donation in a Will or for support with writing a Will please visit their website at  https://www.gosh.org/donate/leave-gift-in-your-will/

They also have a website shop at https://shop.gosh.org/shop

Their support Care team Tel. No. is 02038413131

Their support Care team email address is   supporter.care@gosh.org