Plans for the UK’s first patient hotel in Bristol approved

Plans for the UK’s first purpose-designed Patient Hotel for children and babies have been approved by Bristol City Council.

The Patient Hotel is made possible through The Grand Appeal’s long-standing partnership with Jingle Jam, raising over £2.2m so far. This unique facility will be called ‘Jingle Jam Building’ as recognition of their support.

The Grand Appeal’s Patient Hotel is the latest development in the charity’s 30-year partnership with Bristol Children’s Hospital. The  development will allow patients to stay with their families and receive outpatient ongoing therapy and rehabilitation once they no longer require around-the-clock in-patient care in the hospital.

It is set to be transformational for young patients and their families across the South West and South Wales, and complement the expert treatment, therapy and rehabilitation offered in the children’s hospital.

As the first of its kind in the UK, this unique development will set a benchmark for ‘step-down’ facilities for patients after long, or repeated hospital stays.

The concept of Patient Hotels originated in Sweden to tackle the longstanding challenge of delivering continued care to patients who no longer require an in-patient hospital bed. The Grand Appeal’s Patient Hotel takes the concept further, providing a dual-purpose accommodation and therapy for children and their families.

Lewis Brindley, trustee of Jingle Jam, said: “It’s been an immense privilege fundraising for Jingle Jam Building over the past eight years. Everyone here at Jingle Jam is so glad to see this incredible, essential project take its next step in becoming a reality. The gaming community have taken this project to their hearts over the last eight years, helping us to raise the £2.2m so far towards this fantastic development. We are looking forward to seeing the Jingle Jam Building evolve in the next phase of its development.”

The Patient Hotel will offer patients and families access to 12 ensuite rooms, with a communal kitchen, laundry and lounge areas. Alongside the accommodation, hospital staff will utilise a purpose-built therapy and gym space, a specially adapted kitchen for hospital dieticians and an external landscaped garden for rehabilitation and relaxation.

The facilities will benefit children with a range of medical conditions, including those undergoing neurorehabilitation following a brain injury, those recovering from complex orthopaedic surgeries, and children who need daily input from dieticians, speech and language therapists or nutritionists.

Martin Gargan, clinical chair at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, said: “It is fantastic news that the plans for this incredibly important facility have been approved. At the hospital, we admit critically ill children from as far as the tip of Cornwall and with each of these children, come their worried families. Stressed, anxious and far from home, some of these families are coming to terms with their child facing a life-long health condition, life-changing injuries, and possibly a lengthy inpatient stay.

“The Grand Appeal’s new Patient Hotel is the latest development in our pioneering and innovative 30-year partnership with the children’s hospital, which will transform the care of these vulnerable young patients who will be offered accommodation at the Patient Hotel. Children will be accommodated alongside their families, which will improve their well-being and reduce anxiety. Parents and caregivers will play an active role in their child’s therapy, building confidence and helping to improve their child’s outcomes on discharge.”

Bristol Children’s Hospital provides life-saving care to over 140,000 children each year and has the largest geographical area of any children’s hospital in England. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is the only unit in the South West providing the highest level of care to critically ill and premature babies from across the region, caring for over 800 babies a year.

The development has received huge support from patient families, with many believing it will have a ‘life-changing impact on so many families’ and ‘bring families back together at one of the most stressful times of their lives’. They have described it as a ‘lifeline, representing hope, comfort and a sense of normality during a health crisis.’

Jingle Jam Building will provide 12 bedrooms for patients and their families, once they’ve stepped down from acute hospital care, who would otherwise be staying in the children’s hospital. Those inpatient beds will then be released for the children’s hospital to reallocate to other patients in need of acute care

Throughout England, approximately 10% of hospital beds are taken up by patients who are well enough to go home after treatment, but live too far away to access the regular and ongoing therapy and care that they need. That figure is less than 3% in Scandinavian countries where Patient-Hotel type facilities are more commonplace.

Nicola Masters, director of The Grand Appeal said: “We are delighted to see our planning application move through the approval stage and get one step closer to becoming a reality. Huge thanks go to Jingle Jam and the online gaming community for their support in helping to bring this project to fruition.

“In our 30-year partnership with Aardman and the children’s hospital, together we’ve helped fund the hospital as we know it today, significant capital developments, family support and accommodation, pioneering and innovative medical equipment and patient comforts. All of this has been made possible thanks to our support base, enabling us to raise these funds and provide critical support for babies and children across the region.

“Now, with thanks to Jingle Jam and our incredible supporter base, we’re ready to take the next big step on our journey to set a new standard in the UK for children’s healthcare, following intensive care and treatment in hospital.”