Putting children and families at the heart of our new children’s day surgery unit
With a core purpose to provide high quality specialist care to children, it seemed only fitting that Evalina London Children’s Hospital would involve its patients and their families, as well as local children, in the design and function of its new day surgery unit.
The two-storey, family-friendly centre is designed to provide services for an additional 2,300 patients every year, with two operating theatres dedicated to day surgery and comfortable waiting lounges.
Its communications team created a series of online and face-to-face engagement opportunities through the hospital’s website, social media, posters and its services, encouraging children and their families to feed into the theme of the building, floor plans and how patients would ‘flow’ through the building on the day of surgery.
They were also instrumental in the development of Xploro, a bespoke app designed to reduce children’s anxiety and familiarise them with what to expect on their visit.
An outer-space theme was selected by staff and patients for the artwork throughout the centre. To find inspiration for the design, an art competition was held, inviting children and young people to interpret ‘people and journeys in space’. The winner, eight-year-old Ella Moth, drew an astronaut school, in which trainee astronauts learned how to fly a rocket and learn alien languages.
Ella Moth and her winning entry
Prior to the competition’s launch, potential entrants were invited to a virtual manga masterclass with Japanese artist Kiriko Kubo, who was commissioned to reimagine their original artwork into 82 space-themed pieces.
A special space-themed event was held at the centre, to which all entrants were invited to see how their work now appeared on the walls. The UK Space Agency and other space experts were also on hand to educate and inspire these young people, and provide a boost for patients in the hospital.
Did you know you can’t burp in space? Or that outer space is 62 miles away – roughly the length of 1,000 Big Bens? Fun facts like these were shared, and also incorporated into the artwork of the centre.
The hospital’s patron HRH The Princess of Wales officially opened the Children’s Day Surgery Unit in December 2023, alongside Ella and the unit’s first patient. The opening was attended by patients, past and present, and local children involved in its design.
Eight-year-old Tony Hudgell BEM, a former patient, who had raised £1.8m for Evelina London Children’s Hospital by walking ten kilometres on his prosthetic legs, was also invited to the opening. Around £500,000 of his donation was spent on the unit.
He was honoured with a personalised ceiling tile depicting him as an astronaut, complete with his crutches, prosthetic legs and name badge. Hudgell’s visit attracted media coverage, and was shared online, on social media and in charity stakeholder communications.
Tom Hudgell who set out to raise £509, but actually raised £1.8m
On the first anniversary of its opening, the communications team celebrated the unit by demonstrating its impact on children’s lives on social media, its official website and staff communications. A video featuring celebrity doctor, and staff member, Dr Ranj was also released, which helped children to understand what they should expect on any visit.
The judges loved the entry, which they felt combined creativity and empathy to bring the ethos of the hospital alive for patients and young people in the local area. Every media opportunity was carefully considered, for maximum impact.