'We raised £4 million for children's unit, now they're closing it'
FUNDRAISERS are angry after discovering the £4-million dedicated children's unit they raised money for will be closed and moved across Bristol at five times the cost.
The Barbara Russell Unit opened in 2000 after the successful Jack and Jill fundraising appeal, but is due to close in 2014 when the rest of the Frenchay site is downgraded to a community hospital, leaving campaigners furious, with one group even asking for their money back.
-
The Jack and Jill Appeal campaign director, Bob Woodward
Paediatric burns and neurosurgery will move to Bristol Children's Hospital as part of plans to centralise all specialist treatment for youngsters on one site. But because there is not enough room to accommodate the additional staff and patients, the paediatric services from Frenchay will be housed in a new ward block that is yet to be built.
The Jack and Jill Appeal campaign director, Bob Woodward, who also founded cancer charity Clic in 1976, says he feels let down by the NHS for closing the unit that he, and others, worked tirelessly for.
He is also chief executive of the Starfish Foundation, formed by Charlie and Mary Dobson, who granted £1 million towards the unit. The charitable foundation tried without success to reclaim the money donated to the appeal when they found out that the children's ward was going to close and has vowed not to support NHS projects in the future.
Mr Woodward, of Frenchay, said: "When I was asked to take on the voluntary role of campaign director I was assured that this was a 'once in a lifetime opportunity to build the best possible unit to care for children well into the 21st century'.
"Yet, within a couple of years of its completion, plans had been drawn up to clear the site. We have all been badly let down and we just feel as if we have been used."
Mr Woodward said no one from the NHS trusts in Bristol took the time to explain the decision to close the Barbara Russell unit.
Mr Woodward is also upset the Paul O'Gorman Lifeline Building at Southmead Hospital, which he helped to raise funds for, has been demolished to make way for the new superhospital.
Bristol University paid back £2 million raised after an appeal for the charity Children with Leukaemia because they could not use the building for the purposes the money had been made available.
North Bristol NHS Trust, which runs Frenchay and Southmead hospitals, said there is no provision for money to be paid back to fundraisers and no donations have been returned.
They said that by 2014 more than 30,000 children will have benefited from treatment at the Barbara Russell Unit and that it is not viable to keep the ward open when the other major hospital services are no longer available on the site.
Chief executive Ruth Brunt said: "North Bristol NHS Trust is incredibly grateful to Mr Woodward and everyone who raised funds to build the Barbara Russell Unit in the late 1990s.
"The expertise that has been developed here at Frenchay will not be lost. The unit will simply transfer to the centre of Bristol into a brand new, purpose-built facility."
It is not yet known whether the children's unit will be retained as part of the Frenchay community hospital as work on the arrangement of the site is ongoing.
14 Comments
View all
by geoff, BRISTOL
Friday, July 30 2010, 11:28PM
“only moving to another location,not the end of the world”
by kerstie, bristol
Friday, July 30 2010, 10:16PM
“Well I am sad to hear this, so is my niece who received first class treatment for the months she was there. They saved her life and provided my sister with the invaluable sence of security... an amazing ward, so close to home made a terrible time easier to bear! No doubt the new building / location will be just as good but when you have emotional connections to a particular hospital hearing news such as this is a little sad. Massive respect for the whole Barbara Russell Unit”
by kerstie, bristol
Friday, July 30 2010, 10:11PM
“Well I am sad to hear this, so is my niece who received first class treatment for the months she was there. They saved her life and provided my sister with the invaluable sence of security... an amazing ward, so close to home made a terrible time easier to bear! No doubt the new building will be just as good but when you have emotional connections to a particular hospital hearing news such as this is a little sad. Massive respect for the whole Barbara Russell Unit”
by soniya mundy, bristol
Friday, July 30 2010, 6:12PM
“i am in total shock.the barbara russell unit saved my sons life.the dedicated staff and the amazing brain surgeon are the most dedicated team i have ever met.its not just the ward and hdu itself but its also the calm of the grounds that can go into when you are there long term.the nature reserve was so calming for my son after his stroke,the fields to do physio in was priceless.we were taken to the childrens hospital aswell and its nothing compared to barbara russell it has no calm,no grounds and im not saying anything about the care because the care was amazing too,but frenchay is just amazing and very calm.we cannot believe its going,how on earth can they provide the specialist care that they do?barbara russell unit we love you all loads,you are all amazing.”
by Anon 1, Bristol
Friday, July 30 2010, 5:01PM
“They are not pulling it down Papa you silly person only moving and changing the use of it”
by Jon, Bradley Stoke
Friday, July 30 2010, 2:23PM
“Centralisation of specialist services can only be a good thing.
Look at what happened at Oxford recently, where children died because surgeons were inexperienced in carrying out complex procedures.
People always develop an emotional attachment to their hospitals, but they should remember that centres of excellence in medical care will almost always perform better than smaller units.”
by John, WSM
Friday, July 30 2010, 1:49PM
“My son was born premature at St Michaels and has cerebal palsy. We have been to Southmead, back to St Michaels, the Children's Hospital, Frenchay and Weston General.
Barbara Russell is by far the best unit, my son is not terrified of the building (he now goes into a panic when seeing some hospitals) and I believe the staff are the most helpful by far. The consultants there have always gone beyond the call of duty, not the same at some of the other hospitals I'm afraid.
Shame on everyone who has there hands on this closure”
by Papa Capyn-Yeraz, Bristol
Friday, July 30 2010, 1:31PM
“"10 years is old for a ward this day and age..." Anon, Bristol.
Utter, utter nonsense. Total waste of money demolishing a £4million, 10 year-old building only to construct it somewhere else at twice the cost.
Except that it won't be constructed somewhere else because of cutbacks.
The whole closure of Frenchay hospital and centralisation of services in a new Southmead hospital is very seriously flawed and will come back to haunt us in years to come.”
by david, henbury
Friday, July 30 2010, 12:37PM
“What a shambolic state that these Hospitals have got into.Bob Woodward has done so much for Bristol and it's a disgrace.They couldn't even name a street in Cabot Circus after him that just about sums it up.”
by John, Swineford
Friday, July 30 2010, 11:53AM
“BOB WOODWARD HAS BEEN SIMPLY FANTASTIC, AND NOW MUST BE SO DISAPOINTED WITH THIS NEWS. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY”