Great Ormond Street Hospital redevelopment

The team at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children treats one in every 10 children diagnosed with cancer in the UK and they see every child under the age of one year from the South of England who has been diagnosed with cancer.

Roughly half of these children have leukaemia.

Following a review of paediatric oncology services in London, the team at Great Ormond Street faced a 61% increase in the number of cancer patients referred to them.

To accommodate this increased demand and provide timely treatment in comfortable, appropriate surroundings, a complete expansion of the Hospital’s in-patient, day patient and out-patient oncology and haematology facilities was urgently required.

We pledged to raise half of the £4.9 million cost of this vital project, due for completion in 2008, and have already raised the first £2 million.

Pictured: Paul O'Gorman's parents, Eddie and Marion and his sister, Sandra, outside the re-named Paul O’Gorman Building at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Phase 1: Expansion of Elephant Day Care

Elephant Day Care, the Hospital’s haematology/oncology out-patient and day care facility, sees 7,000 out-patients and 1,800 day cases every year.

Treatments generally involve chemotherapy or infusions of different drug regimes.

Development and expansion of day care services is at the heart of the modernisation of care provided at the Hospital.

By enhancing their day care services, they will be able to treat greater numbers of children in a way that is more convenient for families.

Elephant Day Care is supported by the provision of overnight facilities in the Paul O’Gorman Patient Hotel.

The new Out-patient Department will include four treatment rooms, used for the preparation and initial set-up of chemotherapy and the renewal of wound/line dressings, ten consulting rooms, two isolation areas, offices and seminar rooms, reception area, pharmacy, play area and kitchen.

The new Day Care Centre will include a 22-bed area for chemotherapy, a recovery area from general anaesthetic and investigations, two further procedure rooms (used for theatre-like procedures, intravenous line insertions, lumbar punctures and chemotherapy) and a play area.

Phase 1 opened in February 2008.

Phase 2: Creation of a new in-patient ward

Although the majority of children now receive most of their treatment as out-patients, every child will need to be admitted as an in-patient at times when they need a higher level of supportive care.

In-patient haematology/oncology services are currently provided within the 13-bed Lion Ward and 7-bed Giraffe Ward. These two wards treat children from birth to 16 years.

Phase 2 will create a new 17-bed in-patient oncology ward, to complement the 20 beds currently available. Work started in autumn 2007 and is expected to be completed in 2008.

The whole project will not only enable the team to treat the increased number of patients referred to them, but also means treatment can be provided in more spacious, comfortable surroundings with better facilities for patients and parents.

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