Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity was joined by patient mum, Liz Hession at the launch of a new £3m appeal, It Starts Here, to transform the hospital’s front entrance to reduce the fear and anxiety of patients, like Liz’s four-year-old son Seb, ahead of appointments.

Last updated nearly three decades ago, the hospital’s existing main entrance is cramped, dull and unwelcoming and doesn’t reflect the world-class care that takes place beyond it. Feedback from families has found they find the existing entryway stressful to navigate with pushchairs, wheelchairs and medical equipment and it doesn’t put them or their children at ease.

The charity’s It Starts Here Appeal will change this, overhauling the entire ‘first impression’ of Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The new interior design, which is being developed with patients, families and staff, will see it transformed into a welcoming, child-friendly, open and bright space which reflects the needs of everyone who uses it.

Liz Hession is one of these parents. Her twin boys, Seb and Alex, were born three months premature in February 2020. At just two days old, Seb had a grade four bleed on his brain and needed emergency surgery to insert a shunt. He also had problems with his heart which required surgery. He was transferred in the middle of the night to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Birmingham Children’s Hospital for the operation.

Liz explains: “Having never been to the hospital before, we found it difficult to know if we’d even made it to the right place. There were no clear signs and the building doesn’t look like a children’s hospital. Once inside, our first impression wasn’t great.

We were faced with a long, dark corridor. We were stressed, exhausted and unsure of how to get to our baby.”

Under the care of the hospital, further unexpected health complications were discovered and Seb was diagnosed with the genetic condition Hirschsprung’s disease. Liz continues: “The hospital has become our second home. As the boys have got older, our visits have become more difficult as we try to keep them entertained. There’s nowhere to distract them and they find the front entrance scary. There isn’t an area for us to relax before appointments and the restaurants and cafés are often too busy to tackle with Seb’s wheelchair or a double buggy.”

In contrast, Seb also has appointments in Waterfall House – a newer part of the hospital – which has its own entrance. Liz adds: “Waterfall House is bright, airy and has child-friendly aspects throughout, like the Roald Dahl windows. It’s a much nicer experience for all of us. It helps us feel a lot calmer and relaxed ahead of appointments.

“The care we’ve received from everyone at the hospital has been exceptional, but the new front entrance will transform the experience for families like ours.”

Plans for the transformation include creating natural light to provide a sense of space; somewhere to eat, sit and relax before, during or after appointments and space to wait and ‘handover’ to a partner before heading to work or returning home to care for siblings. Plus, entertainment or distraction for kids such as internal play space, as well as green spaces to bring the outside in and a welcome desk and clear signage to direct them around the hospital.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity needs £3m for the transformation, but thanks to gifts and pledges received from philanthropic individuals and organisations, there is just £1.6m left to raise with the help of the public.

It is anticipated building work will begin on the new entrance in spring 2025, with work completed by the end of the same year.

To find out more about the It Starts Here Appeal, or to donate, please visit bch.org.uk/it-starts-here.