Alder Hey Children’s Charity has launched a major fundraising drive to transform the way mental health services are delivered to children and young people.
The appeal is aiming to raise vital funds to enhance inpatient and community mental health services at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, enabling more children to access treatment when they need it.
BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas is one of the high-profile names to back to the appeal.
‘Alder Hey means so much to me; it’s a world class place and the work they do there is inspiring and pioneering. To be asked to be part of the new £3m ‘7 in 10 Children’s Mental Health Appeal’ is an honour,’ said Ms Ballas.
‘I know from my own personal experience how important this work is. There is a very real need for children to have access to appropriate care and treatment as soon as possible. This appeal is a chance for everyone to help shape the future of mental healthcare for children and young people across the whole country.’
As part of wider plans to create a unique dedicated children’s and young people’s healthcare campus, Alder Hey is set to soon begin building a new ‘Clinical Hub’ which will include new mental health outpatient facilities and a brand new 12 bed specialist inpatient mental health unit, alongside other cross dependent community health services.
Located right next door to its state-of-the art specialist hospital and within a modern, child-friendly building, the enhanced provision of mental health services will increase current available inpatient bed capacity and enable more children and young people to be seen and treated quickly by experienced, specialist clinicians.
To kick off the campaign, retailer Matalan has announced that £500,000 will be donated immediately following the successful ‘Together For Alder Hey PJs Campaign’ in 2019.
Matalan’s highly anticipated 2020 annual pyjama campaign for Alder Hey due to be revealed in September will also raise much needed funds.
Alder Hey’s new mental health facilities have been designed with the help of past and present service users who have had their say on how services should be delivered and what the new building should look like.
The chief executive of Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Fiona Ashcroft said: ‘We believe that no child or young person should ever go without help and the ‘7 in 10 Children’s Mental Health Appeal’ will greatly enhance the delivery of mental healthcare and the number of children and young people diagnosed and treated by the service. The money raised will help us create treatment facilities that our most vulnerable patients need and deserve.’
Photo Credit – Alder Hey’s Children’s Hospital