Home / Health / Wallace & Gromit Help Build Kids' Hotel
Wallace & Gromit Help Build Kids' Hotel
6 Nov
Summary
- UK's first patient hotel for sick children is nearing completion.
- The Jingle Jam Building aims to free up hospital beds for children needing care.
- Wallace and Gromit attended a ceremony for the building's foundations.
Foundations have been poured for the UK's first purpose-built patient hotel designed for sick children. This new 12-bed facility, located in Bristol near the Bristol Royal Infirmary and Bristol Children's Hospital, is set to open soon. It will provide essential care and a supportive environment for children transitioning from hospital treatment and their families.
The Jingle Jam Building, named after a charity gaming event that raised over £2.6m for the project, will offer specialized support. This includes accommodation for children needing rehabilitation after serious surgeries or requiring daily input from dieticians and speech therapists.
The innovative concept, inspired by Swedish patient hotels, aims to increase hospital bed availability by housing patients who no longer require acute care but cannot yet return home. The new facility will be situated adjacent to St. Michael's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a vital regional center for premature and critically ill babies.
Wallace and Gromit made a special appearance at the construction site to present a commemorative brick, celebrating the pouring of the foundations. This milestone follows demolition and preparatory works that began in February. The project is a response to years of feedback from healthcare staff and parents regarding children needing continued specialist support outside of an acute ward.
