Audio transcript of video about Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital was the first hospital dedicated to children in the English-speaking world. Established over 160 years ago, our founder Dr Charles West recognised that children needed different care and treatments to adults. Even today our clinical research and education teams always put the needs of sick children and their families first. We provide services to children from all over the UK who need our specialist expertise as part of the country’s National Health Service.
Great Ormond Street Hospital is an international centre of excellence in paediatric healthcare. Our reputation has been built on the expertise of clinicians and researchers over the years who are attracted to work with the best in their field and to share a commitment to discover new and better ways to treat the children in their care.
The hospital’s international standing was recently recognised by our inclusion in the 2012 Olympics’ opening ceremony, which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II, the Hospital’s patron. We have the widest range of health services for children on one site. More than 50 different clinical specialties and sub-specialties meaning children with complex conditions are able to be treated in one place, a major benefit for them and their families.
We have over 200,000 patient visits each year and are the largest paediatric centre in the UK for children’s heart problems, brain surgery, renal transplantation, intensive care, craniofacial reconstruction and gene therapy. In partnership with University College London’s hospitals we’re also the largest centre in Europe for children with cancer.
The hospital is committed to providing high quality and safe care to its patients with three priorities. The first is to reduce harm to zero. The second is to consistently deliver outcomes which place Great Ormond Street Hospital in the top five children’s hospitals in the world. The third is to exceed the expectations of patients, families and referrers.
We're a global leader in paediatric healthcare education, training more paediatric specialist doctors than any other centre in Europe. We also have the largest nurse education program in Europe.
As well as delivering clinical care to children, the hospital, in collaboration with its partner the UCL Institute of Child Health, is the only biomedical research centre in the UK specialising in paediatrics and the largest paediatric centre in Europe dedicated to both clinical and basic scientific research.
The last three years, the hospital, together with the UCL Institute of Child Health, has been in the top five centres in the world for research published.
New scientific breakthroughs, particularly in genetics, cell therapies and regenerative medicine, offer real hope for future patients and sick children. The Hospital recently announced its intention to build a new centre for children’s rare disease research, which will help to ensure that these new breakthroughs can be translated into actual treatments for children more quickly.
To ensure that the hospital maintains its world leading position we continue to upgrade our facilities and increase capacity to help more children. For example, the Morgan Stanley Clinical Building, the first part of the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre, opened in June 2012 and includes new cardiac, neurosciences and renal centres. The child first and always has been the hospital’s motto for over 100 years and remains as true today as it has ever been.