Building has started inside Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool, UK to create a brand-new state of the art MediCinema for its patients and their families.

The specially designed in-hospital cinema, due to open later this year, will be funded exclusively by Alder Hey Children’s Charity and the MediCinema charity and will be the only one in a solely paediatric hospital in the UK and the first in the North West. The colourful cinema will accommodate beds, wheelchairs, and medical equipment and show the latest movies for free to transform the hospital experience for children and young people at Alder Hey.

The construction of the cinema will consist of the conversion of a lecture theatre on the first floor of the hospital overlooking the main atrium. It will accommodate 29 regular cinema seats, two specialist reclining chairs and room for up to three hospital beds or four wheelchairs.

The project is a partnership between the MediCinema charity, Alder Hey Children’s Charity and Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. The construction of the MediCinema has already been fully funded, including significant grants from The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust and The Kentown Wizard Foundation alongside The Walt Disney Company UK and Ireland, Skiddle Ltd, and Members of the Institute of Travel and Tourism. It will show the latest movies for free to transform the hospital experience for thousands of children and young people at Alder Hey every year. Ongoing annual running costs will then be funded by Alder Hey Children’s Charity through kind donations made to its MediCinema Appeal.

The charity MediCinema already operates successfully in five major NHS Trusts and Health Boards across the UK, boosting patient and family wellbeing with the magic of film during hospital stays. With a 24-year track record, their cinema-based programmes improve the emotional, psychological, and physical health of patients. This includes reducing feelings of isolation, stress, and anxiety while enhancing patient resilience and supporting recovery.

A Cinema Manager for this new facility is currently being recruited. They will work alongside the hospital team to recruit specialist trained volunteers who will also be joined by nurses working for MediCinema.

These teams will accompany patients and families to screenings, making it possible for them to enjoy the latest films just like many cinemagoers whilst still receiving any care that they need.

According to MediCinema’s ongoing research, 86% of MediCinema attendees find that the experience supports their mental health and helps them cope. An impressive 94% say it reduces the isolation they feel in the hospital, and 93% report a reduction in stress and anxiety. Moreover, 55% of patients surveyed shared that their MediCinema experience helps alleviate pain.

Nathan Askew, Chief Nurse at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said:

“We are so excited that work is about to start on building a cinema for our children and young people. Being in hospital can be challenging, and they can miss out on so many aspects of a normal childhood, so having a cinema within our hospital means we can give those children and young people who can’t normally go the opportunity to still have that magical movie experience. It will make a massive difference to everyone here.”

Colin Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer at MediCinema said: “We are very proud to be building our newest MediCinema at the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. We can’t wait to see the space transformed from a lecture theatre to a state-of-the-art bright and welcoming MediCinema to support the many patients and their families at the hospital.”

Fiona Ashcroft, Chief Executive at Alder Hey Children’s Charity said: “We are delighted to be supporting this amazing project at Alder Hey now and in the years to come. Our appeal for the ongoing annual running costs has definitely struck a chord with donors and will remain open indefinitely.” www.alderheycharity.org

MediCinema patient quotes

Young Rhys suffered from bowel problems for many years and had multiple exploratory surgeries and invasive procedures. His dad explained how this made Rhys sceptical of and traumatised by his hospital experiences. After a major stoma operation at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle he visited the MediCinema. “Even though Rhys was going to need to walk again the MediCinema gave him somewhere to walk to. It gave him the motivation to take that first step. In the past when Rhys has been in hospital, he’s gone in on himself. But after that screening, he was buzzing. It was like he got a new lease of life.”

Grace developed a serious autoimmune disease and spent four weeks in the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow – her mother Shona described the difference MediCinema made there: “We saw multiple different films during Grace’s stay and every time it was a constant bit of cheer to enter the MediCinema and see the rows of brightly coloured seats. MediCinema felt like a pause from reality, where we could think about something other than Grace’s condition and just laugh together and enjoy ourselves as a family.”

About MediCinema
MediCinema is a charity which improves the wellbeing and quality of life of NHS patients and their families through the power of the shared cinema experience and the magic of film. It builds and runs cinemas in hospitals equipped with space for beds, wheelchairs, and medical equipment and shows the latest releases for free Its services demonstrably improve emotional, mental, and physical health, reduce feelings of isolation, anxiety, and stress, and increase patient resilience. Since MediCinema was founded in 1999 it has given more than 300,000 experiences to patients, their families, carers and those closest to them. MediCinema operates cinemas in the following: Chelsea and Westminster, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals in London, Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children/Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, and Serennu Children’s Centre in Newport South Wales.

For more information visit: www.medicinema.org.uk

About Alder Hey Children’s Charity
Alder Hey Children’s Charity supports the work of Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust by raising much needed funds that are spent directly on initiatives in the hospital and community to benefit patients. Without the support of charitable donations, many of the outstanding facilities and innovations at Alder Hey could not be achieved.

Alder Hey Children’s Charity is dedicated to going the extra mile to support the physical and mental wellbeing of the 450,000 brave young patients who needs us every year. We pride ourselves on supporting the whole family to give children the best start in life, from birth to early adulthood. Every penny raised through Alder Hey charity’s appeals delivers access to the best possible equipment and facilities, above and beyond what is available on our hard-working NHS, from keeping poorly tiny babies close to their loved ones, providing a home from home for young people with complex and enduring mental health conditions to ensuring children have the best experience during recovery from treatment.

About Alder Hey
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is one of Europe’s biggest and busiest children’s healthcare providers. Each year, we provide care to more than 450,000 children and young people., treating everything from common illnesses to highly complex and specialist conditions.

Alder Hey’s Vision is to create a healthier, happier and fairer future for children and young people. This means helping to shape a world where health and well-being aren’t limited by a child’s social, economic or ethnic background.

The Trust’s strategy is driven by what matters most to children and young people; ‘Get Me Well’, ‘Personalise My Care’, ‘Improve My Life Chances’ and ‘Bring Me the Future’. By empowering children and young people to manage their own health and care as close to home and school as possible, they can fully realise their potential. In collaboration with partners, Alder Hey is utilising the very best expertise and the latest technologies to achieve pioneering breakthroughs in treatments, revolutionise care and transform health outcomes for children and young people everywhere.

One of four stand-alone children’s hospitals in the UK, Alder Hey is also a national centre for neuro and craniofacial surgery, a regional centre for burns injuries and a Centre of Excellence for children with cancer, heart, spinal and brain disease. The Trust is one of only four epilepsy surgical centres in the UK, one of only two accredited major trauma centres in the North West and is a referral centre for the treatment of congenital heart defects in North West England, North Wales and the Isle of Man. Alder Hey is an NIHR-funded Clinical Research Facility (CRF) that specialises in the design, and delivery, of early-phase drug trials in children with a wide range of conditions. The Trust has a dedicated Patient Experience Programme, a renowned Arts Programme and is one of a few hospitals to have a Children and Young Person’s Forum.

Alder Hey is supported by ‘Alder Hey Children’s Charity which aims to raise vital funds for lifesaving equipment, research projects and patient experience initiatives. For more information visit www.alderhey.nhs.uk and www.alderheycharity.org