Parents whose children are staying in hospital will have their meals provided for them at South Cumbrian hospitals.
Furness General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, run by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, have joined the programme launched by Sophie’s Legacy and NHS England.
Sophie Fairall had just turned nine when she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in September 2020. During her treatment, she endured nine rounds of intense chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiotherapy. Sophie never managed to get into remission and in June 2021, after only eight weeks on a programme of maintenance chemotherapy, she relapsed. With no treatment options left, Sophie died aged 10 in September 2021.
Sophie’s Legacy was created in her memory of Sophie and the change she wanted to create – including for parents to be fed when staying with their child.
Often, children don’t want their parents to leave their bedside, which results in them not being able to eat. By providing them with food, the trust hopes to take the worry of making time to eat or paying for hospital food each day away from parents.
Funded by Sophie’s Legacy, each hospital will receive £5,000 to support the provision of at least two meals per day for parents over 12 weeks.
The project will see parents at the trust provided with various methods to access meals, including offering meals from the hospital menu to eat on the ward.
David Sanderson, director of estates and facilities added “We’re thrilled to be part of Sophie’s Legacy and expect to launch it in our two main hospitals in Barrow and Lancaster.
“Having a sick child in hospital is a terrifying experience for all parents. Understandably, they want to spend every possible moment with their child in hospital, which can mean they neglect their own basic needs.”
“Being able to provide them with something as simple as a meal will hopefully have a huge impact on their experience and take some pressure off them at what is already a difficult time.
“Sophie’s Legacy will help us provide more support for parents, resulting in better outcomes for everyone; and we are incredibly grateful to them and NHS England for giving us the opportunity to put Sophie’s wishes into action in our hospitals.”
