Patient and family experience

We're already:

• Helping GOSH families stay close to their child, by funding £1.5m every year for free family accommodation.
• Enhancing patient and family care by funding the GOSH Volunteer team, who manage 600 volunteers that provide a range of different support to families from way finding to emotional support, including taking therapy dogs into the wards.
• Increasing the amount of respite areas, workspaces and kitchen facilities for families by funding redevelopment projects at the hospital.

We will:

• Fund initiatives that improve the food for families at GOSH, providing more healthy, affordable and tailored options, as well as improving accessibility of food.
• Scope the development of non-clinical spaces for families across the hospital and ensure these are comfortable and homely.
• Support projects that improve access to outdoor space at GOSH, including for clinically vulnerable children and young people.

We're already:

• Providing opportunities for patients and siblings to be playful, build coping mechanisms and reduce anxiety, by funding a team of around 60 Play specialists and Play workers.
• Providing play for patients and siblings outside of normal working hours, by funding the Out of Hours Programme.
• Providing therapeutic support to help children achieve their development goals while at hospital, by funding the music therapy service.
• Providing popular gaming equipment to the wards of the hospital, including funding over 100 Xbox and Nintendo Switch devices.

We will:

• Provide more opportunities for entertainment throughout the hospital, alleviating boredom on wards and in waiting rooms.
• Enhance opportunities for children and young people to enjoy gaming in hospital, to provide joy and a sense of connection during their stay.
• Create more playful spaces at GOSH and improve access to therapeutic play for all patients, including on evenings and weekends.
• Improve access to therapeutic services for children and young people, and their families, such as music therapy.

We're already:

• Providing long- and short-term holistic support to patients and families at GOSH, by funding the multi-faith Chaplaincy service.
• Providing GOSH families with free welfare advice, by funding the Citizens Advice Camden GOSH Family service.
• Safeguarding children at GOSH and supporting the wellbeing of their families by funding 40% of the Social Work team.
• Funding GOSH meal smart cards for all breastfeeding parents and low-income families of inpatients, giving them access to meals from the hospital canteen.
• Funding travel reimbursement for families who have had their appointment cancelled..

We will:

• Support the mental wellbeing of parents and carers while their child is in hospital.
• Provide more opportunities for families to connect with others in a similar situation to their own.
• Scope opportunities to alleviate the financial pressure of being in hospital as much as possible, to relieve additional stress on families.

We're already:

• Improving access to art and creativity for families, by funding posts and resources in the GOSH Arts team.
• Providing opportunities for transplant patients to compete in the British Transplant Games, by funding accommodation and travel costs.
• Providing a professional athlete mentoring scheme by funding a partnership programmes with Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.

We will:

• Increase our investment in the care of teenagers and young people by providing opportunities for them to socialise, develop and connect with the outside world.
• Provide all children and young people with opportunities to be artistic and creative, including those that experience challenges to self-expression (i.e., patients with learning difficulties or those who are immunocompromised).
• Invest in initiatives that empower patients to advocate for themselves, helping them to feel like an active participant in their care team.