'Home from Home' celebrates five years supporting families with children in hospital in Newcastle

A charity run ‘Home from Home’ is celebrating five years supporting families who have seriously ill children in Freeman Hospital, Newcastle.

Scott House, located within Freeman Hospital, is welcoming the public, families and friends to join them in celebrations to mark the opening of the house in 2014.

Guests will enjoy coffee, cake, raffles and other activities all to show their support for both the charity and the families who are staying at the house.

The Sick Children’s Trust is the charity that gives over 3,500 families with a seriously ill child in hospital a warm and comfortable place to stay when they need it most. Linsey Brough, Scott House Manager, said:

“We are thrilled to be celebrating five years of keeping families together with their seriously ill children. We have seen the difference our support makes to families, allowing them time to rest away from the ward knowing they are just a stone’s throw away should their child need them.

“Many of our families would have to travel long distances or stay in hotels so that they can be at the hospital, but The Sick Children’s Trust takes this worry away and allows them to focus on what is most important, their children.

“We do not charge families to stay with us however it does cost the charity £30 to support a family for one night. I encourage everyone to come to our anniversary celebrations to see what a difference our support makes and anything they can do to help us be there for more families would be greatly appreciated by us all.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone to the house, but especially some of the families who have stayed with us in the past to see how they are getting on.”

Eleanor Baggaley stayed in Scott House in September 2018 when her daughter Ava required open heart surgery to repair a hole in her heart. The family were told that the surgery would take up to six hours and the heart unit wouldn’t have a place for them to stay while Ava recovered. Thanks to The Sick Children’s Trust and Scott House the family could stay close to Ava’s hospital bedside rather than having to make the difficult journey across Newcastle every day. Eleanor said:

“Due to Ava’s Down’s syndrome, there was a higher chance that something could go wrong following the surgery or that there would be a complication. Facing the traffic to be by her side would’ve been so stressful. By staying at Scott House we knew if something bad was to happen, we would receive a direct call to our bedroom and we could be at the hospital at the drop of a hat. Knowing that was a huge weight off my mind.

“As there was a higher chance of a complication following surgery, we expected to be away from home for weeks, if not months. To make sure we could still spend time as a family, we told our other children Maya and Oscar that they could stay with us at Scott House on the weekends. There was plenty of room in our bedroom and even a playroom – the ‘Home from Home’ was just made for keeping families together.

“Even though our stay was a lot shorter than we originally thought it would be, Scott House was invaluable. Just being able to be at Ava’s side as late and as early as possible every day meant so much, especially on that first night. Nothing can prepare you for seeing your tiny baby so bloated from surgery and covered in wires. After seeing her, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Being able to go back to Scott House to relax a little and switch off before rushing back the next morning was so important.”

The party is 1pm-3pm on Wednesday 23 October at Scott House in the Freeman Hospital with an open invitation for anyone who would like to come down and join in the celebrations.

Further information about Scott House and The Sick Children’s Trust can be found on their website sickchildrenstrust.org