People pick name of £100m hospital

Jul 5 2008 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

THE region’s new pioneering children’s unit was last night named the Great North Children’s Hospital.

Newcastle United boss Kevin Keegan revealed the result of a public vote in front of a crowd of staff and children at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where the centre will be.

People were invited to choose their favourite name from a shortlist of three – the Northern Lights Children’s Hospital, Great North Children’s Hospital and The Greenhouse Children’s Hospital.

Costing £100m, the 245-bed complex will be one of 14 children’s hospitals in the country.

With the emphasis on improving the “patient experience” as well as offering top-class treatment, it will have “clown doctors”, a 50-seat cinema and a rooftop penthouse for teenage cancer patients.

It will also include specialist cancer care, dialysis suites and accommodation for families.

The building means that for the first time in the region, all children’s services will be under one roof when it opens in 2010.

Keegan – whose own favourite name was the Northern Lights Children’s Hospital – said: “I have been here many, many times, but it’s the first time I’ve been since I came back to Newcastle. They do a fantastic job.

“It’s a great hospital, not just for Newcastle. I have been to the hospital and there’s been kids from Cumbria and all over.

“Of course, it’s not just the kids, but they have brothers, sisters and parents who need somewhere to stay and they are addressing that here. They do terrific work.”

Regional director of public health and medical director for the North East Strategic Health Authority, Dr Stephen Singleton, said the hospital would provide “services fit for the 21st Century”.

“I first saw a plan for doing this maybe 10 years ago, so it’s fantastic to see it going up in the car park. I love the name – it was my favourite of the three.

“We have already got fantastic services here, but we are squeezed into buildings designed for a different age.

“So much of paediatrics is very hi-tech, so we need a modern facility for it. It’s a children’s service for Newcastle, but it’s also a regional service and a national service.” Chief Executive of Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sir Len Fenwick, said: “I feel absolutely thrilled.

“We believe we are going to provide healthcare facilities, both in the new hospital and in outreach services in our communities, which will be second to none.

“The new hospital is going to have a significant positive influence on facilities for Newcastle and the North East.

“The children have had a big impact themselves on how it will turn out. They have been asked what they want from a hospital.

“It’s a case of getting both those things and providing quality treatment.”