Croydon’s new £7 million children’s ward opens for the borough’s youngest patients
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust is delighted to announce the opening of a new dedicated ward for children requiring hospital care today (Tuesday 10 May).
The £7 million unit was opened by Croydon’s most senior nurse, Elaine Clancy, alongside paediatric consultant Dr Edward Holloway and Head of Nursing for Children’s Services, Sarah Mclaggan, who have been an integral part of the project since its conception.
The name of the unit ‘Rainbow Children’s Unit’ was also officially unveiled today by five year old Ashani from Coulsdon, who won the opportunity to design the name and logo for the unit following a competition for local children, alongside eight year old Nylah and eleven year old Sevim, each of whom scooped a prize for naming the playground courtyards ‘Champion Courtyard’ and ‘The Little Club’.
Elaine Clancy, Croydon’s Joint Chief Nurse and Executive Lead for the project said:
“We’re absolutely thrilled to open Rainbow Children’s Unit to our paediatric patients in Croydon. Looking after one of the largest populations of young people in the Capital, Croydon’s NHS can now provide even better care for local children when they need us most, now and in the future.
“As well as providing us with additional space to improve the experiences for patients, their families and our own staff, the unit gives us the opportunity to deliver more complex care closer to home, reducing unnecessary travel for our sickest patients.
“I’m both incredibly proud of all of the people who have been involved in the development of this unit and grateful to the generosity of fundraisers who have supported our children’s cancer unit and state of the art playgrounds, both of which will improve the lives of young people undergoing hospital treatment.”
The state of the art facility, which can provide care for almost 40 local children, houses a medical ward, surgical ward and a short stay unit, as well as providing improved facilities for patients and visitors, such as family spaces and relaxation rooms and a number of playspaces and playgrounds, funded by the Trust’s dedicated charity.
Funded through a combination of NHS capital and generous donations, the unit will allow Croydon Health Services NHS Trust to provide even better care for thousands of children and young people who need to be admitted to hospital.
The build also includes the addition of a brand new critical care unit and children’s cancer unit, allowing the Trust to provide care closer to home for even more of the borough’s sickest children.
The cancer unit has been partly funded by The Chartwell Cancer Trust, which joined forces with the NHS in 2018 to create The Lily Pad Appeal, which has raised £750,000 towards the new facility, transforming care for children, young people and their families who are dealing with cancer and the possibility of spending up to two years in treatment.
Michael Douglas, Chief Executive of The Chartwell Cancer Trust said:
“Bringing state of the art oncology facilities to Croydon’s sickest children is an achievement we are so proud to have made happen alongside so many dedicated fundraisers in the borough.
“It has been a fantastic collaborative effort drawing on the support of individuals and groups from across the community. Our commitment to Croydon is unwavering and we will continue to pour our energies into funding support services, family groups, resources and equipment to ensure that cancer care in Croydon is second to none.”
Dr Edward Holloway, Consultant Paediatrician said:
“This project has been an ambition of ours for a number of years and to see us open the doors of our new unit to children for the first time has been nothing short of fantastic.
“This unit will help us to ensure that our services reflect the needs and the complex health conditions of the young people we treat, whilst providing a calm, welcoming and modern environment for children and their families alike.
“We’re very proud of the care we deliver in Croydon and now that we have the facilities to offer even more new and improved services, it’s clear our paediatric services will continue to go from strength to strength.
“We’re incredibly grateful to all of our supporters including those who have fundraised for both the Lily Pad Appeal and the Power of Play Appeal, each of whom have helped to make a difference to the lives of the borough’s sickest children.”
ENDS
Our donors
The Chartwell Cancer Trust supports cancer patients across the south east by funding vital equipment, facilities and social contact and has been supporting oncology families at Croydon University Hospital since 2016.
The charity set up the Lily Pad Appeal in 2018 providing initial funding to the Trust to support the development of the Rainbow Children’s Unit and have since raised a total of £750,000 for Croydon Health Services NHS Trust towards the creation of the children’s cancer unit. The Charity are committed to continuing fundraising for the unit and to continuing supplying robots for children unable to attend school and their full range of support initiatives to patients and parents using the unit.
You can find out more information about the Lily Pad Appeal and The Chartwell Cancer Trust here. You can find out more information about the Lily Pad Appeal and Chartwell Cancer Trust here.
Croydon Health Charity provides practical and emotional support for staff and patients of Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, funding refurbishments, state-of-the-art equipment, life-changing research and much-needed staff health and wellbeing projects . Since May 2021, it has raised over £95,000 through it’s Power of Play appeal towards much needed play equipment and playgrounds within Rainbow Children’s Unit. You can find out more information about Croydon Health Charity here.
Our contractors
The unit was constructed by Logan Construction Ltd as the Principle Contractor. With 24 years of knowledge and expertise of working in the healthcare sector, they have demonstrated their expertise in delivering the children’s unit, alongside a larger number of other healthcare projects within the last five years, providing high quality facilities for the NHS and beyond.
Architects ‘Ryder’ were appointed to design the new children’s unit at Croydon University Hospital, working alongside young people and their families and the Trust’s clinical teams to create the state of the art facility. Ryder have experience designing hospitals and hospices across the world, as well as child friendly environments such as primary schools.