Welfare Projects

Paul O’Gorman Patient Hotel

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we contributed £2 million to develop the Paul O’Gorman Patient Hotel in 2003 / 2004. The Hospital has placed a growing emphasis on the development of its day care services so that children don’t need to be admitted unnecessarily. This has great benefits for children being treated for cancer. There are times during treatment when admission is necessary, but much of the treatment can be given on an outpatient basis. Trips to and from hospital take up a great deal of time and energy. However, young patients are not separated from family and friends as they would be during a prolonged hospital admission. Great Ormond Street has a wide catchment area and many families have to travel significant distances for their appointments. Which is where the Patient Hotel comes in.

The benefits of the Paul O’Gorman Patient Hotel

• The Hotel is just across the road from the Hospital
• It provides pleasant, comfortable accommodation for families travelling to London for outpatient appointments
• Families can travel to London the afternoon before treatment, enjoy the comfort of the Hotel overnight and travel home the next day.
• With rising patient numbers, the Hotel also frees up beds for those children who need to stay on the ward for medical reasons.

Many hundreds of children have stayed in the Hotel since it opened its doors in October 2004.

Redevelopment of facilities for children with cancer

In 2008, we completed our pledge to raise £2.4 million towards the much-needed expansion of the oncology and haematology facilities at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The team at Great Ormond Street faced a sudden increase in the number of cancer patients referred to them following a reorganisation of care in London. They now treat one in 10 of the children in the UK diagnosed with cancer. To accommodate this increased demand and provide timely treatment in comfortable, appropriate surroundings, a complete expansion of the Hospital’s oncology and haematology facilities was urgently required.    

Our funding supported two specific projects

• Redevelopment of Elephant Day Care, the haematology/oncology out-patient and day care facility
• The creation of a new 17-bed oncology ward to complement the 20 beds previously available.

The project was completed in 2008 and all of the new facilities are now fully operational. Staff can now treat their increasing number of patients in modern, spacious and comfortable surroundings.