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For the past 15 years, RMHC has been developing and building family accommodation in or near hospitals across the UK. They all share one common goal and that is to provide a ‘home away from home’ for families with children in hospital.
In most cases, hospitals will contact the Charity and ask RMHC to provide them with some sort of accommodation for families with children receiving in-patient care at that particular hospital. On other occasions, RMHC will look at which hospitals are providing specialist services to children and approach them. The decision is then based on three main factors: does the hospital provide specialist care such as neonatal intensive care or pediatric intensive care? Is there a great demand from families for the service?; and are family members traveling from all over the country in order to get their children treated?
A feasibility study looks at various hospital statistics such as how far families are
travelling to and from the hospital, and what land or accommodation the hospital has. Based on the study’s findings, RMHC’s board of trustees will decide whether or not to give the project the go-ahead.
For example:
In the case of St George’s Hospital in Tooting, South East London, many families who were attending the children’s unit travelled great distances at great cost to be with their children (who were often suffering from very serious conditions or injuries that required long-term treatment). The financial, emotional and physical burden of travelling day in, day out to the hospital too often took its toll on families. The possibility of having accommodation for family members at St George’s Hospital would provide families with a measure of comfort that had sadly been missing.
Although it can take as little as six months to build a House, it can take up to two years to complete a project because of the time taken to agree a lease with the hospital, hire builders and contractors and apply for and receive planning permission.
This sometimes works in RMHC’s favour, because it gives the Charity some time in
order to raise funds for the project. Obviously, the cost of a Ronald McDonald House and Family Room depends on the size of the accommodation. RMH Tooting, for
example (which has eight family bedrooms with en suite facilities, a lounge, playroom, kitchen, dining room and laundry), cost just £769,000. RMHC contributed £669,000 of this and St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust contributed the remaining £100,000.
A great deal of care and thought goes into each project, and each House or Family Room has to meet certain criteria in terms of design, location and size. One of the criteria is that the House or Family Room has to be as near to the hospital as possible and all bedrooms must have a telephone directly linked to the hospital ward.
This means parents are in direct contact with the ward and should an emergency arise they can be contacted straight away. The design of each House also needs to fit well into the local environment. It has to be modern and welcoming.” The bedrooms will be en suite, and a shared living room and kitchen plus laundry room facilities will be provided. The shared living space is the ethos of what the Charity is all about, and one of the paramount criteria when designing a House. Providing a space that enables families to support each other in difficult times is essential.
Telephone 0844 840 0844 | Charity Reg. No. 802047 | © RMHC 2008
