Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity awarded “monumental” grant

Seven figure sum given to upgrade ambulance fleet.

The Denise Coates Foundation has given a generous grant of over £1 million to support the Critical Journeys Appeal at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

The substantial donation will be used to provide the hospital’s KIDS/NTS ambulance fleet with the latest life-saving medical equipment needed so the hospital can respond faster and more effectively; helping vulnerable patients and their families get to the right place, at the right time for the right treatment.

Louise McCathie, Director of Fundraising at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, comments: “This incredible grant from the Denise Coates Foundation means we can now make further impact on the lives of the young children and babies we treat at our hospital. The journey to and from hospitals can be a very critical time for sick children, so to know that we have the right equipment in our mobile intensive care unit is vital. We are extremely grateful to the Denise Coates Foundation for such a generous donation.”

The new equipment will mean all four KIDS/NTS ambulances can be deployed at the same time to meet the critical needs of all patients, no matter their age or illness, allowing the KIDS/NTS team to respond to any emergency – neonatal or paediatric.

Denise Coates CBE said of the decision to support the Critical Journeys Appeal: “I am so pleased that the Foundation’s grant will enable the KIDS/NTS Ambulance Service to acquire state of the art equipment that will make such a positive difference to the quality of the medical care provided to children and babies across the Midlands region and beyond.”

In 2016, Kids’ Intensive Care and Decision Support (KIDS) and the Newborn Transfer Service (NTS) merged to form KIDS/NTS. The service offers an acute transport and advice service for the management of critically ill children requiring intensive care in the Midlands. It is dedicated to moving babies between neonatal units in the West Midlands to ensure right care for the right baby at the right time.