Transform Young Lives this Christmas

This Christmas, we need your help. We’re creating an incredible facility, the first of its kind in the UK, which will transform the lives of families across the South West. But we need your support to make it a reality. 

Many very sick babies and children spend weeks or months in St Michael’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or Bristol Children’s Hospital. Even with the expert care provided by their teams, it can feel isolating and scary for the whole family. The Grand Appeal’s Patient Hotel will be transformational, providing accommodation for patients and their parents while offering therapy and rehabilitation under one roof. 

This Christmas, your support means children won’t face long, difficult recoveries alone. 

Meet Mae. 

Mae’s life changed in the space of just a few minutes. She went from being a happy, bubbly eight-year-old to being rushed into life-saving emergency surgery after a cluster of blood vessels burst in her brain. 

There were no warning signs. It was every parent’s worst nightmare. Imagine waking up one morning to the devastating news that your child has to learn everything again. 

The incredible staff in Bristol Children’s Hospital helped Mae towards a full recovery, but that journey wasn’t easy. Being able to sleep, eat, relax and have treatment under the same roof would’ve reduced the stress, anxiety and loneliness both Mae and her parents felt.

Something as simple as settling down to watch a movie together, sharing a meal or enjoying a book at bedtime as a family, would’ve made a world of difference.

Wouldn’t you want that for your child? 

So, this Christmas, we’re asking you – our incredible supporters – to do what you do best: create an unshakable support network for babies and children across the South West. From tiny tots in St Michael’s NICU to children like Mae, we believe every child deserves the chance to access life-changing treatment facilities like the Patient Hotel. Will you help us keep families together? 

What will the Patient Hotel offer?

We’re proud to continue putting Bristol at the helm of paediatric healthcare. Not only will the Patient Hotel be a UK first, but it will change lives by making sure children have everything they need for their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing under one roof. It will also give incredible hospital staff a warm, homely environment to care for patients.  

This ground-breaking facility will offer 12 ensuite bedrooms designed to accommodate patients, their parents, and siblings, truly keeping families together. Each room will be meticulously designed to be safe, accessible and suitable for patients without the atmosphere and beeps and alarms typical of hospital wards. It will offer an on-site gym for physical therapy and rehabilitation, a specialist kitchen for children with controlled dietary needs and even a peaceful, tree-lined garden. The Patient Hotel will offer an oasis of calm and respite, completely for free, for as long as families need it.

Meet the patients your support will help

Bristol Children’s Hospital treats over 140,000 children every year – including 78% of the babies treated in St Michael’s NICU, who come back for further treatment. As the specialist centre for the entire South West, patients can travel from as far as South Wales, Cornwall and Gloucester. 

Just like Mae, many of them would’ve benefitted hugely from the Patient Hotel if it had been available during treatment. 

Meet some of our incredible patients and their families…

This Christmas, we’re asking you to please consider donating what you can for children who currently need the Patient Hotel, and children who will long into the future. Please, help us give families the greatest gift of all – quality time together.