Charity Band Night
We are hosting a Charity Band night on 29th March 2025 to continue fundraising to improve the facilities in the Southwest Peninsula Children’s Surgical Unit.
The Southwest Peninsula is the only part of England where children and families do not live within one hour of a specialist children’s hospital. As a result, families and children are required to travel significant distances to Bristol to access specialist surgical services. At University Hospital Plymouth, they have invested in developing children’s surgical services over the last decade. Following the pandemic, they have prioritised the needs of children and built a new stand-alone children’s surgical unit.
This facility is designed to meet the needs of children and young people who require planned or unplanned surgery. It allows more operations to be delivered on children each year – up to 1000 extra cases are possible. It also allows us to address the long waiting lists of children waiting for surgery, not only in the Plymouth area, but also across Devon and Cornwall.
Perhaps, most importantly, it enables the possibility to offer surgery for some children who would otherwise be required to travel out of region to Bristol for their care. By working closely with teams at Bristol Children’s Hospital, and other centres in Devon and Cornwall, children can be identified and redirected for their care at the new Southwest Peninsula Children’s Surgical Unit in Plymouth at University Hospital Plymouth (UHP).
Children and young people find coming to hospital for surgery an extremely anxious time, and we are seeing a significant increase in anxiety and mental health issues in children following the pandemic. One of the key strategies for helping children cope with their anxiety, alongside good preparation, is delivering care in a relaxing environment designed to meet the needs of both younger children as well as adolescents.
The building work has now been completed and the facility, and the additional resources it offers, is open. We wish to improve the areas accessed by children to deliver a truly child centred experience, which will benefit every family who attends the unit for surgery.
The Southwest Peninsula Children’s Surgical Unit would be very grateful if you would consider making a donation towards this project and help them achieve the completion of this outstanding new service for children in Plymouth, Devon, Cornwall and the wider Southwest.