Minister Visits Alder Hey

April 2011

Anne Milton, Under Secretary of State for Health, visited Alder Hey to see some of the work undertaken by the hospital in public health.

During her visit, the Under Secretary of State had an opportunity to see some of the hospital’s public health initiatives in action, including a smile clinic promoting good dental health, football workshops with Everton in the Community and the hospital’s WOW fresh fruit trolley.

Speaking about her visit, Ms Milton said: "I found my visit to Alder Hey Hospital invaluable. Seeing first-hand the excellent work that staff are doing to make such a difference to the lives of children in Liverpool . I also had the opportunity to listen to staff, managers and most importantly the children's families here at the hospital about what they thought of the services and future plans for the hospital.

"There is some great innovative work going on at Alder Hey, helping to improve the health of more children than before. It was particularly rewarding as Public Health Minister to see the range of health promotion projects running alongside the clinical services - working with children and their families on healthy eating, dental hygiene and the 'Everton in the Community' programme, which promotes the benefits and the fun from exercise and active social play with other children. The hospital had a fantastic atmosphere and it was great to really feel the strength of the team work that is going on."

Alder Hey is dedicated to improving the health of children and young people across the region. North Mersey has one of the highest levels of deprivation in the UK , which affects the health of our children and young people. Of the 200,000 young patients we see and care for each year, many have preventable illnesses caused by lifestyle issues such as poor diet and lack of exercise.

Moya Sutton, Director of Education and Partnerships, said: “Our public health strategy aims to create opportunities for health promotion for our patients and families, while also ensuring that Alder Hey is a healthy place to work. Through various activities and initiatives we aim to address key areas including obesity, breastfeeding, affects of passive smoking, alcohol and substance misuse and dental health. Today was a fantastic opportunity to showcase some of these initiatives which are making a big difference to many of our patients and their families.

“Our smile clinics encourage children to take good care of their teeth and demonstrate how a healthy mouth is so important. Developing positive oral health behaviours while children are young may help to prevent dental health problems later in life. The clinics inform children and families about the correct way of brushing their teeth using a ‘large’ set of teeth which the children can hold and a two minute brushing timer. Each child who attends is then given a Brush for Life pack containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, brushing timer and DVD which has been designed in the hospital by our Arts for Health Team.

“We are also extremely lucky to have a partnership with Everton in the Community – the charitable arm of Everton Football Club – who hold regular workshops on our wards. Through the sessions, patients are encouraged to take part in an afternoon of exercise, discussion, and laughter with activities designed to suit everyone, regardless of age or ability.”

During her visit, Anne Milton was also given a tour of Alder Hey’s Cardiac Ward where she spent time talking to patients and families. She also saw how the hospital is encouraging children to eat more healthy fruit and vegetables. Patients on the ward enjoyed being served a variety of fresh fruits from the hospitals WOW Trolley. Each week, the trolley visits different wards across the hospital to offer patients fruit and vegetables, some of which they have never seen or tasted before!

On the Cardiac Ward, Anne Milton also met members of Alder Hey’s Cardiology Team. Prem Venugopal (Cardiac Consultant) said: “ Alder Hey is the leading provider of paediatric cardiac surgery in the North West of England, providing surgical care for almost 500 patients every year. We are very proud of our high surgical standards at Alder Hey so we were delighted to have the opportunity to give the Minister a tour of our Cardiac Ward and explain more to her about our service.”

Louise Shepherd, Alder Hey’s Chief Executive said: “On behalf of all our staff I would like to thank Anne Milton for taking the time to visit us today. We were delighted to be able to showcase some of the many fantastic projects taking place within Alder Hey in public health. As a WHO accredited health promoting hospital, and as one of the largest paediatric hospital’s in Europe, we believe it is our duty to help improve the future health of all children and young people. Our role in public health is extremely important to us and will play a big part in our vision of becoming the UK ’s first Children’s Health Park .”

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