Spring 2024 Update

Time is ticking along, and I am making good progress behind the scenes. But there isn’t exactly anything from my research that is photo worthy at the moment!

To get into a hospital and talk to families (and later visit them at their homes) you need permission from some people called the NHS Health Research Authority (sometimes people call this ethical approval). Sadly, this takes quite a while. It’s going to take me about 6 months to sort this, but I am keeping busy with other engagement stuff whilst this is getting sorted (You don’t need to see photos of me sitting at a desk drinking tea!).

So what else have I been doing?

Well, last weekend I went to help with Saturday Suppers at Leeds Children’s Hospital, provided by the Millie Wright Children’s Charity (please click the link to checkout their website!).

I got to know the Wright family during their many hospital visits. Sadly, Millie died a couple of years ago. But her family have done an amazing job to setup this charity in her memory. Ceri and Nige (her parents) are so inspiring and I am in awe of their motivation and perseverance in changing things for the better. I hope if I spend more time around them some of it might rub off on me!

As the charity is new, they have a really fresh perspective on the state of affairs at the moment. This is something I share with them, as I too think that there are many inequalities in services that need addressing. I will be volunteering with them on a monthly basis going forward, and hope we can work together on many projects in the future.

The second thing I’ve been doing, is helping with careers events. I went to Roundhay School to talk with Year 9 to 13 students and their families. It was a great event and I spoke with a lot of people. I really like being outside the hospital and getting to talk to people ‘in the real world’!

I am starting to think about the next Parent Advisory Group meeting on the 29th June. I will share information about this once I have written something down! I will post another update sometime after Easter. I hope everyone has a chance to do some nice things during the Easter Holidays.