TWO new family accommodation complexes next to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) have recently opened their doors, providing parents and carers with a place to stay, free of charge, just moments from their child’s bedside. 

The renovation project has seen two 18th-century townhouses on Powis Place transformed into modern, comfortable facilities for 40 people, just seconds away from the hospital.  

GOSH Charity partners, Royal Bank of Canada and McColl’s have each raised £1 million for GOSH Charity to fund the accommodation, designed to cater to the needs of families whose children require urgent and specialist care, with priority going to parents or carers with children in intensive care units, as they can’t stay on the ward with their child. 

Royal Bank of Canada House and McColl’s House will feature bedrooms of various sizes, kitchen facilities, a quiet room, sitting rooms, and laundry and dining areas, giving families a place to relax and rest away from the busy hospital setting. 

The building and renovation of family accommodation close to the hospital is one of GOSH Charity’s key funding areas, and through the generous support of partners and donors who give to the charity, the hospital can continue to improve services offered to families during what is often a challenging and daunting time. As the hospital treats seriously ill children from across the UK, family accommodation is also crucial for those families travelling from further afield with a child in need of life-changing care. 

GOSH Charity’s director of fundraising Liz Tait said:

“Being the parent or guardian of a child who is seriously ill can be extremely stressful and the last thing families should need to worry about is where they can stay while their child is receiving life-changing care at GOSH.  

“Thanks to our valued partners, Royal Bank of Canada and McColl’s, we can provide hundreds more parents and carers with somewhere they can sleep, eat and look after their own wellbeing, in the knowledge that their child is in safe hands just moments away. This new accommodation will be a real lifeline during the most worrying of times for many families and we are thrilled to welcome our first guests.”  

Dr Joe Brierley, Consultant in paediatric and neo-natal intensive care at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said:

“My team and I look after some of the most seriously ill children in the hospital and, like the rest of our colleagues, deliver family-centred care which is crucial for families with children being treated in intensive care. Children at GOSH don’t just come from London and the South-East, they travel from the whole of the UK, as well as further afield. This means their parents and carers need a space to sleep and recharge, but most of all to be near their child so they can be at their bedside whenever needed – in intensive care, this can sometimes be very quickly, day or night. Family accommodation at GOSH is so crucial to help us deliver the very best care for seriously ill children and their families, so having Royal Bank of Canada House and McColl’s House a stone’s throw away from ICU will make an immeasurable difference.”