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Children's health

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Original poster

Great Ormond Street Hospital anyone?

38 replies

MamaPingu · 12/01/2014 09:47

Hello, I am interested in learning a little more about GOSH. Do you have any experience with the hospital?
I am doing the Great North Run in September and I'm considering raising money for Great Ormond Street as it sounds like a wonderful hospital but I'd love to hear some of your experiences with it?

OP posts:
hollylive · 12/01/2014 11:57

I have a friend who's son has been in and out of there for a long time. They are literally life saving. They saved his life on 2 occasions when his heart stopped! Amazing.

5HundredUsernamesLater · 12/01/2014 12:19

I have a friend who's child has been there. They have also spent some time in sheffield childrens hospital and she rates that higher than GOSH. Think it was an opinion based on the whole experience though, not just the treatment, Parents facilities etc. I'm sure both do a fantastic job regarding medical care.

Bunbaker · 12/01/2014 12:26

DD is also a long term patient at Sheffield children's hospital and they are wonderful. They are my charity of choice for any fundraising we do.

twojumpingbeans · 12/01/2014 12:30

My DD2 is a long term very regular patient at Sheffield children's too - they are wonderful and currently need every penny we can raise as they have just started a massive renovation...

Bunbaker · 12/01/2014 12:32

I hope they have factored a new car park in their plans. Parking is a nightmare round there.

ihearttc · 12/01/2014 12:48

We have been to GOSH once as DS2 needed a CT scan and to see Cardiology team and our local hospital 120 miles away don't have the facilities to do it. He will probably need surgery at some point in the future and it will be done there.

The staff there are amazing and tbh I felt completely humbled just sitting in there when you see what some of the children have to go through. We went by train (which was a nightmare as ended up having to go across London to get train home with a 16 month old who had had a GA)...if the parking had been better Id have driven.

If it was me doing such an amazing thing I would possibly be more inclined to fundraise for your local hospital as its often those hospitals that get overlooked. We raised lots of money for the NICU at our hospital because DS2 was premature and they looked after him so well. Don't get me wrong...GOSH is a fantastic place but there are other fantastic hospitals as well which need funds maybe more?

Edenviolet · 12/01/2014 12:50

Two of my dcs have been seen at gosh and dd1 may be having surgery there in the near future. She has also had physio rehab stays.

Its a brilliant hospital.

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 12/01/2014 13:12

To be honest I would raise money for your local children's hospital. Not that gosh isn't great, but other hospitals get ignored over it and could do with the money more. Gosh have a charity and aren't short of money.

(I'm not dissing Gosh here).

NK5BM3 · 12/01/2014 13:15

GOSH have been great for my ds who stayed 2 weeks and they finally figured out what was wrong with him. We are considering raising funds for them when he's finally discharged (not sure when!).

5HundredUsernamesLater · 12/01/2014 15:55

bunbaker
Apparently a new car park is planned at sheffield but the new wing is being built first on the site of the existing small car park which means that there will be no parking at all on site for the next year at least.

mammapingu
Have you thought about childrens hospices. Although hospitals are very deserving of extra funds the hospices are usually completely reliant on charity and do an amazing job too.

ViviDeBeauvoir · 12/01/2014 16:03

GOSH were a fantastic starting point for my son who had a sight threatening haemangioma but it was my local hospital paediatric dermatology who did all the hard graft and day to day input: answering my questions any time of day/night supporting me etc.

To be honest, I'd look at smaller, more local places to fundraise for as GOSH have fantastic public support but, for example, dermatology in my local hospital was very underfunded. It hadn't been made over since the 70s and the success of its patients was mostly down to the care and expertise of the staff. It also had to lose an important laser (one of its kind in the country) when they had to move premises and this hasn't been replaced :(

MysteriousHamster · 12/01/2014 16:56

GOSH was fantastic for my son when he needed surgery for a minor thing at a young age (don't want to out self too much). Whenever we have to go for check-up appointments now we always have to wait a very long time to see someone but there are lots of toys to play with, staff are great, and visiting can be quite humbling as mentioned earlier.

Anyfuckerisnotguilty · 12/01/2014 17:01

Gosh are amazing
Even when your child cannot be fixed they are just so caring and fantastic
I will always donate to them

ancientbuchanan · 12/01/2014 17:06

Gosh is wonderful.

We went there after about five hospitals and god knows how many consultants had failed to get to grips with Ds's condition.

Ds was an outpatient but the treatment he had was excellent. His consultant treated all if us, Ds included, like partners. He was humble and inspiring, acknowledging what he didn't know, taking us seriously and listening to what had happened, answering questions. When we had to rush Ds in one one occasion, the other doctors were as lovely.

Yes, sometimes we had to wait but we wanted others to have the same service we had.

And they are so child centred. Play stuff, play advisers sometimes, things children will eat.

Also doing ground breaking research. I was thrilled to see Ds' consultant was named as one of those and one of the top 100 doctors some time ago.

I agree they have good fund raising, and wouldn't want you not to give to a local one, but the position is hard for them given I think the peter pan revenues have now stopped. It's their research I really support, not just their child care.

TSSDNCOP · 12/01/2014 17:32

DS was a patient there at 3 months. We visited every week until he was about 6 months and now we are still under their care, but only see them annually.

Even thinking about how fabulous they are can bring me to tears 6 years later. Just going in you know you are in the right place. The staff are beyond words. I am so grateful to them and always will be.

I used to say a silent prayer of thanks every time we left, simply because we were able to leave and so many children can't.

Thank you for supporting them.

TSSDNCOP · 12/01/2014 17:34

Vivi were Nurse Jane and Hilary your nurses?

There's a special place in heaven for those two women.

candycoatedwaterdrops · 12/01/2014 17:57

GOSH saved my life 25 years ago. If I had lived (unlikely), I wouldn't be able to walk or talk without their neurology team.

ViviDeBeauvoir · 12/01/2014 18:48

Yes, TSSDNCOP. Two wonderful ladies, indeed.

Nothing was too much trouble for them when we travelled (hundreds of miles) to see them and they were the first people to really listen to us, answer questions openly and knowledgeably and genuinely reassure us.

I'm also a member of a birthmark support group and have seen countless other cases they've helped with. (Think Hilary has retired now).

Re-reading my first post, I sound a bit harsher than I meant to. Blush and the research side of the hospital is fantastic. That's why they are number one in paediatrics throughout the world.
They deserve every penny they get but there are definitely other places that could do with some help too.

beautifulgirls · 12/01/2014 20:19

GOSH is great and we have experience of their care there, but if you are looking for a London based Children's hospital please have a look at the Evelina Children's Hospital which is just awesome but doesn't get the same level of publicity and therefore doesn't get as much charitable support from the public as GOSH does. They saved our daughter's life when she was 19months old, against the odds. Inbox me if you do want more info please.

Bunbaker · 12/01/2014 20:24

ViviDeBeauvoir I would be interested to know which one it is. DD had a haemangioma in her airway when she was a baby and she had a tracheostomy for over three years as a result.

WaitingForPeterWimsey · 12/01/2014 20:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Tinymrscollings · 12/01/2014 20:34

They saved my son's life and their neurology team continue to give him wonderful, state of the art care. We're not out of the woods yet but we'd not even have made it into them without GOSH. It's a wonderful place, I'll sponsor you!

TSSDNCOP · 12/01/2014 20:38

Vivi DS had many heamangiona over his body. One became very badly ulcerated and it was that which led us to GOSH.

ViviDeBeauvoir · 12/01/2014 20:40

Bunbaker - which support group? Or hospital? It's the birthmark support group, which can be found on Facebook. And the hospital is Leeds General Infirmary. We had great care while DS was an outpatient/inpatient there.

How old is your DD? I'm glad she got treatment and hope she's ok now. It must've been a difficult time for you all. It's been a rollercoaster for us but DS1 is nearly 3 now and his eye has developed normally after they treated the birthmark.
(Sorry for hijacking the thread! Blush )

invicta · 12/01/2014 20:41

Y son was admitted to GOSH ten years ago with an acute kidney failure. The staff, doctors, nurses and non-medical staff were all amazing. It's a worthy cause.