Annex A > Chapter 16 - Support and Counselling > The Bristol and South West Children's Heart Circle > Financial and other support provided by the Heart Circle
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Financial and other support provided by the Heart Circle
`Although fundraising has never been or never will be the primary aim of the Heart Circle, money raised by children, parents, friends and medical staff has made an extremely important contribution to the Cardiac Surgery Unit ... and the Bristol Children's Hospital. It is impossible for me to calculate in retrospect the amount of money involved in projects initiated by the Heart Circle at BRI and BCH but it must be in the region of £1, 000, 000, all of this money being raised voluntarily by members of the Heart Circle.' [83]
72 She gave examples of the support provided by the Heart Circle:
`We provided small items of equipment if they were considered to be for the improved care of children and beyond the budget of the NHS. In 1992 Dr Jordan asked if we would make a substantial contribution to the purchase of a Doppler/Echo Machine. We agreed to provide £25, 000 ...' [84]
73 Mrs Pratten subsequently provided the Inquiry with a breakdown of the sums raised by the Heart Circle. [85] She pointed out that the administration costs of the Heart Circle during the period were minimal as no office accommodation was rented nor staff employed.
| 1984 | £16, 000 | 1990 | £55, 000 | |
| 1985 | £22, 000 | 1991 | £70, 000 | |
| 1986 | £34, 000 | 1992 | £114, 000 | |
| 1987 | £26, 000 | 1993 | £96, 000 | |
| 1988 | £52, 000 | 1994 | £86, 000 | |
| 1989 | £56, 000 | 1995 | £81, 000 | Total: £708, 000 |
74 The Heart Circle also bought and insured a portable Doppler machine for the cardiologists to take to peripheral clinics. Mrs Pratten said:
`... they would take it down to Treliske or Taunton or wherever with them, so they had a better means of diagnosis. That was an important piece of equipment that we felt was not going to be funded by any other source ...
`Nobody else was prepared to fund it. So if we felt that a Doppler ... was a better means of diagnosis in the peripheral clinics and would save families having to come all the way to Bristol, then that was a worthwhile piece of equipment to buy.' [86]
75 They provided accommodation for parents. Mrs Pratten explained that, prior to assistance from the Heart Circle, families of children undergoing surgery had stayed in bed and breakfast accommodation: [87]
`The first major project undertaken by the Heart Circle was to identify a property where parents could stay while their child was in hospital. It took Dr Jordan and I almost six years of discussion with hospital management before they accepted the need but in 1978 a small house belonging to the hospital was given over. This was completely refurbished and furnished by the Heart Circle and opened in 1978 and I believe was the first such accommodation in the country.
`Demand for this was so great that a year later the house next door was similarly opened and shortly after that a third house, making twelve rooms in all.
`In the early years these houses were managed by the Warden of the Nurses Home ... However, later the management was taken over by the Children's Hospital which meant that parents on that Unit were not given the priority intended and I had to undertake hard negotiations to enable the six bedroomed house to be handed over for families on the Cardiac Surgery Unit.
`The Heart Circle continued to keep these houses in good maintenance although later the two smaller houses were little used by the Children's Hospital as the Heart Circle had been instrumental in the provision of two purpose-built blocks of bedrooms and the refurbishment of other accommodation in the Children's Hospital itself. However, the largest house continued to be used for parents on Ward 5 until the transfer. We also negotiated the provision of two bedrooms along the corridor from the Unit for parents at the time of surgery and again all costs were undertaken by the Heart Circle.' [88]
76 However, she went on to say:
`It was understood that as the houses were hospital property there could not be exclusive use ... but because they were funded by the Heart Circle, and our families had particular problems, they would be given some priority. This was the original agreement under which the Heart Circle funded these rooms but regular changes in their management at Bristol Children's Hospital meant that this principle was not followed ...' [89]
77 The Heart Circle provided play facilities and, when the unit at the BRHSC was upgraded in 1986, obtained a small room for play, again fitted out and equipped by the Heart Circle. A Hospital Play Therapist, Helen Passfield, was appointed with the support of Julia Thomas, and funded by the Heart Circle.
`... not only did she prepare children for surgery through play, spend time with them in Intensive Care if they were there for a long time, but she was also a great support for parents. This post continues in Bristol Children's Hospital and is still being funded by the Heart Circle.' [90]
78 Mrs Pratten told the Inquiry:
`I think the hardest job there was to get a room assigned for play, because the hospital did not see the need for a separate area for play away from the "nursery" as it was called, where the sleeping beds were ...' [91]
79 The Heart Circle also gave grants to families with significant need, [92] for example, where their child had a prolonged stay in intensive care; provided furniture for a nursery; [93] negotiated the conversion of a store room into a quiet room for parents and provided furniture; [94] set up a kitchen for parents and provided a washer-dryer; [95] and within Intensive Care, made a designated area for children and provided cots and other furniture and portable telephones; [96] published an information booklet for parents with the support of Children in Need; [97] provided two caravans at Burnham-on-Sea to allow parents or families to take subsidised or free holidays; [98] and made a video for parents to introduce them to the Unit. [99], [100]
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Footnotes
[83] WIT 0269 0011 Mrs Pratten
[84] WIT 0269 0009 Mrs Pratten
[85] WIT 0269 0504 - 0505 ; letters dated 26 June and 12 July 2000
[87] WIT 0269 0007 Mrs Pratten
[88] WIT 0269 0006 - 0007 Mrs Pratten
[89] WIT 0269 0007 Mrs Pratten
[90] WIT 0269 0008 Mrs Pratten
[92] WIT 0269 0008 Mrs Pratten
[93] WIT 0269 0009 Mrs Pratten
[94] WIT 0269 0009 Mrs Pratten
[95] WIT 0269 0009 Mrs Pratten
[96] WIT 0269 0009 Mrs Pratten
[97] WIT 0269 0010 Mrs Pratten
[98] WIT 0269 0010 Mrs Pratten
[99] WIT 0269 0006 Mrs Pratten
[100] See also the 1988 Annual Report for the BRHSC and BRI at HAA 0138 0003 which records that the play room and two parents' rooms at the BRI had been furnished by funding from the Heart Circle; and the first edition of the Bristol and South West Children's Heart Circle `Newsletter' at UBHT 0213 0069 - 0093 , November 1989, reporting that caravans were provided for the use of Heart Circle families