Special diaries given to parents at Bristol Children's Hospital

As the children cared for at Bristol Children’s Hospital are all different, so are their families.

Each family will find different ways of coping with being in hospital. For some, writing down their experiences or collecting images as a way to remember their journey can be a helpful way to deal with the stresses and fears that come with having a critically ill child in hospital.

In partnership with Bristol Children’s Hospital, we’re proud to have created a patient diary for parents whose child is being cared for on the Seahorse Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

The Paediatric Intensive Care Unit treats some of the South West’s sickest children, offering life-saving, round-the-clock care. Some patients will have undergone open-heart surgery while others could have a range of conditions including breathing problems, meningitis or injuries from serious accidents.

With more and more research suggesting a patient diary can help families on their road to recovery, each parent or carer will be offered the opportunity to keep their very own ‘My Seahorse PICU Journey’ diary designed and funded by The Grand Appeal.

We hope these diaries which are free to PICU families will become a special place to document their child’s care and be a meaningful way to spend their time in hospital. Families can use diaries in any way they wish, pictures drawn by siblings, cards, messages, newspaper clippings about current events can all enrich the story of your PICU journey.

This is just one of the hundreds of projects funded by us. As the Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity, it’s our mission to make the hospital the very best it can be and ensure patients and their families feel supported throughout their time in Bristol.