Member Article

Public vote on name for children's hospital

Children’s Services for the North East are being given a further boost with the £100 million development of a brand new hospital, which will feature world leading staff and pioneering treatments. The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust this week launched a campaign inviting the public to choose a name to put the facility on the map as a centre of excellence for the North of England.

A shortlist of three names was unveiled at a launch event hosted by North East TV celebrity, Charlie Hardwick. The three contenders are: ‘The Greenhouse Children’s Hospital’, ‘Northern Lights Children’s Hospital’ and ‘The Great North Children’s Hospital’. Other North East celebrities attending the event included Tim Healy, Denise Welch, Steven Taylor and Niall Quinn.

The public can vote via website www.hospitalvote.co.uk. Voters are also urged to make donations via the website to the North East regional child health charity. Donations will be used to fund a range of facilities from special interactive therapies, based on 3D digital art projections, to creative play schemes including the continuation of the popular Clown Doctors programme.

The hospital will be completed in 2010, and will accommodate 245 children at any one time. The rooftop will feature a specially created ‘Penthouse’ for teenage cancer patients while the core of the building will house a range of exciting leisure activities including an atrium, outside courtyard, play area and a 50-seat cinema.

Dr Stephen Singleton, Chairman of The Children’s Foundation and Regional Director of Public Health, said: “The new children’s hospital will be a fantastic resource for the whole region. It is important that The Children’s Foundation is involved to help ensure that children attending will have the best possible experience. Not only do these activities aid recovery and improve their wellbeing, but they also reduce the strains on the whole family at a very difficult time.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .