Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust.
This article is about the children's hospital. For the TV series, see Great Ormond Street (TV series).Great Ormond Street Hospital
No
389
14 February 1852
The hospital is the largest centre for child heart surgery in Britain and one of the largest centres for heart transplantation in the world. In 1962 it developed the first heart and lung bypass machine for children. With children's book author Roald Dahl, it developed an improved shunt valve for children with hydrocephalus, and non-invasive (percutaneous) heart valve replacements. Great Ormond Street performed the first UK clinical trials of the rubella vaccine, and the first bone marrow transplant and gene therapy for severe combined immunodeficiency.[1]
The hospital is the largest centre for research and postgraduate teaching in children's health in Europe.[2]
In 1929, J. M. Barrie donated the copyright to Peter Pan to the hospital.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity[edit]
The hospital has relied on charitable support since it first opened. One of the main sources for this support is Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. Whilst the NHS meets the day-to-day running costs of the hospital, the fundraising income allows Great Ormond Street Hospital to remain at the forefront of child healthcare.[25] The charity aims to raise over £50 million every year to complete the next two phases of redevelopment, as well as provide substantially more fundraising directly for research. The charity also purchases up-to-date equipment, and provides accommodation for families and staff.[26][27]
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity was one of the charities that benefited from the national Jeans for Genes campaign, which encourages people across Britain to wear their jeans and make a donation to help children affected by genetic disorders. All Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity's proceeds from the campaign went to its research partner, the UCL Institute of Child Health.[28]
On 6 August 2009, Arsenal F.C. confirmed that Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity was to be their "charity of the season" for the 2009–10 season. They raised over £800,000 for a new lung function unit at the hospital.[29]
Two charity singles have been released in aid of the hospital. In 1987, "The Wishing Well", recorded by an ensemble line-up including Boy George, Peter Cox and Dollar amongst others became a top 30 hit.[30] In 2009, The X Factor finalists covered Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" in aid of the charity, reaching No.1 in the UK Charts.[31]
On 30 March 2010, Channel 4 staged the first Channel 4's Comedy Gala at the O2 Arena in London, in aid of the charity. The event has been repeated every year since, raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity each time.[32]
In 2011, Daniel Boys recorded a charity single called "The World Is Something You Can Imagine". It was also released as with proceeds going to the Disney Appeal at Great Ormond Street Hospital.[33]
In 2018, celebrity supergroup The Celebs formed at Metropolis Studios to record an original Christmas song called "Rock With Rudolph", written and produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn. The song was in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. It was released digitally through independent record label Saga Entertainment in November 2018. The music video debuted exclusively with The Sun on 29 November 2018 and had its first TV showing on Good Morning Britain on 30 November 2018. The song peaked at number two on the iTunes pop chart.[34][35][36]
Controversies[edit]
Peter Pan copyright[edit]
At various times, Great Ormond Street has been involved in legal disputes in the United States, where the copyright term is based on date of publication, putting the 1911 novel in the public domain since the 1960s. The hospital asserted that the play, first published in 1928, was still under copyright in the US until the end of 2023.[37]
Gender identity[edit]
In August 2023 Reports indicate that during a presentation by a transgender advocacy group, personnel at Great Ormond Street Hospital learned of more than 150 expressions of gender identity. Following the shutdown of the Tavistock clinic, this renowned children's hospital in London has been designated as one of the new centers for child gender care.[38][39] It comes after parent groups called for the head of the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity to quit over her public support for a controversial transgender activism campaign.[40]
In September 2023 it was revealed "doctors and staff at a world-renowned children's hospital are being advised not to use terms such as girls and boys in diversity guidance".[41]
In January 2024 it was revealed that the new NHS clinic at Great Ormond Street "has been hit by revolt before it has opened after several experts quit over apparent concerns with staff training" and that "The resignations included experts who believed the training materials were not following the independent recommendations made by Dr Hilary Cass, former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Namely, that the service should provide an "exploratory" rather than "affirmative" approach to the child's health". Some clinicians working on the new training materials and who did not resigned are understood to have felt it important to affirm a patient’s gender identity and believed patients could benefit from medication[42][43] In March 2024 NHS England has confirmed children attending these clinics will no longer receive puberty blockers and will be supported in line with the recommendations made by Dr Hilary Cassby "resulting in a holistic approach to care".[44]
Fundraising[edit]
The hospital's charity faced an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office over potential breaches of data protection law in February 2017.[45] The Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity was fined "£11,000 for sharing 910,283 records with other charities, sending on average 795,000 records per month to a wealth screening company and using email and birthdays to find out extra information about more than 311,000 supporters".[46][47]
In 2024 Fundraisers working on behalf of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity have found themselves embroiled in controversy due to allegations of employing "pressure-selling techniques". These door-to-door fundraisers have been accused of coercing people into signing up for donations.[48] An undercover investigation exposed some concerning practices such as:[48]
Patients-led assessments[edit]
Food quality[edit]
In 2013 a survey of more than 1,300 health units revealed Great Ormond Street Hospital had the second worst score in London and the 13th lowest score overall. The hospital that treats some of the country's most severely ill children and teenagers said it was surprised by the results of the first patient-led assessment of non-clinical issues. According to a hospital spokeswoman, the food quality has now improved "after extensive taste testing."[78]
In 2023 a new patient-led assessment released by NHS Digital revealed Great Ormond Street Hospital was still ranked amongst the worst hospitals in UK with the 40th lowest score overall. As part of the assessment of food provision, assessors were asked questions regarding the choice of food offered, the availability of food 24 hours a day, meal times, and menu accessibility. A ward-level assessment of the food was also conducted, including an assessment of taste, texture, and serving temperature.[79]