GOSH welcomes first patients to their brand-new Sight and Sound Centre for children

Iona and Beth at The Sight and Sound Centre

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) opened the doors to its new specialist centre for children on 21st June, welcoming their first patients into the GOSH Sight and Sound Centre supported by Premier Inn. This incredible building is the UK’s first dedicated medical facility for children with sight and hearing loss and will aid over 8000 children a year.

Among the first patients to be treated were seven-year-old twins Iona and Beth Farshi (pictured), accompanied by their mother Judith Farshi. Iona and Beth were born with cataracts in each eye – while Beth didn’t require surgery, Iona had her cataracts removed and artificial lenses fitted as a baby to help improve her quality of vision.

Both twins remain under the close care of the Ophthalmology Department and will now be looked after at the dedicated Sight and Sound Centre.

Thanks to the ongoing care and support at GOSH, both Iona and Beth are doing well.

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Their mum Judith Farshi explains:
"They have the best vision that they possibly could have for children born with cataracts in both eyes, and that’s all down to the team at GOSH. If they hadn’t acted when they did with Iona in particular, she might have lost her vision. To the donors who have made the new Sight and Sound Centre supported by Premier Inn possible, I’d like to say thank you. You are allowing people at GOSH to make a real difference to our children’s lives. You are helping to buy wands for the magicians. And as a parent, I’m so grateful.”

The brand-new facility, which the wonderful patients at GOSH helped design, will transform the experiences of children and young people from across the UK. Patients and over 100 clinicians have moved from existing, outdated facilities into the brand new, bespoke centre designed specifically to cater to children’s sensory needs.

Located in London’s Holborn close to the main GOSH site, the grade II listed building is the first of its kind for kids in the UK, featuring state-of-the-art soundproofed booths for hearing tests, an eye imaging suite, a dispensing opticians and other facilities. There’s also a beautiful sensory garden with plants that children can see, touch, smell and hear, plus bespoke and engaging artworks commissioned specifically for children with sensory loss.

Louise Parkes, Chief Executive at GOSH Charity said:
“We’re so proud that the Sight and Sound Centre supported by Premier Inn is now treating its first patients. I’d like to pay tribute to all our donors, and particularly Premier Inn for their employees, suppliers and customers’ passion and ingenuity in fundraising towards the centre’s completion. Premier Inn have been by our side during one of the most challenging times for the NHS and for charitable fundraising, and we couldn’t be more grateful. The impact all our supporters have had is clear to see in the UK’s first dedicated facility for children with sight and hearing loss, which will help hundreds of children who come to GOSH for specialist care every day. Thank you.”

We partnered with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity back in 2012 as part of our Force For Good programme, and raised £7.5million towards the redevelopment of a 240-bed clinical centre which opened in 2018. So, when Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity pledged to raise an incredible £25 million towards the new Sight and Sound Centre, we wanted to help as part of our long-standing relationship with the charity.

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The Sight and Sound Centre

Great Ormond Street Hospital welcomes its first patients to the new Sight and Sound Centre

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Rob Henderson examines patient Beth

GOSH Consultant Mr Rob Henderson examines patient Beth in the new Sight and Sound Centre

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The Sight and Sound Centre

Iona and Beth with their mum Judith, at the Sight and Sound Centre supported by Premier Inn

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Our teams across the business voted to continue fundraising for this incredible cause, and between our Whitbread employees, incredible guests and generous suppliers, we raised £10 million for the new centre. From customers donating when booking online or dining in our restaurants to the award-winning ‘Your Everest Powered by Wellbeing’ employee fundraising campaign, we couldn’t be happier with our achievements, made by possible through our combined efforts.

Teams across our Premier Inn hotels and restaurants arranged everything from raffles, golf days, quiz nights and more, with one employee undertaking a sponsored ‘No Bacon Butties’ for a month challenge, and another who decided to ‘sleep on the job’, completing a 48-hour bed-in right in the lobby of our Premier Inn London Hayes hotel.

All money raised went towards redeveloping this site into a comfortable, fully accessible space that’s easy to navigate. Exciting new sensory artworks include the Pythagoras Stairs, a piece composed of 12 fully functioning organ pipes which play as patients and families use the centre’s spiral staircase. There’s also a series of hand-glazed ceramic artworks in the waiting areas which combine playful abstract shapes with recognisable objects, and some were even designed by children after they joined some inspiring GOSH workshops.

Mat Shaw, Chief Executive at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) said:
“After a really challenging year for the NHS, I am absolutely delighted to see this fantastic new facility welcome our patients, their families and our hard-working staff through its doors. Children with sensory loss have unique needs, and thanks to this new facility we can treat them in surroundings that will enhance their overall experience of coming to GOSH, taking away some of the challenges or worries they faced in our older spaces. On behalf of GOSH, I’d like to thank everyone who has helped us make this UK-first facility a reality for the children we exist to support.”

Simon Ewins, Managing Director Premier Inn & Restaurants said:
“We couldn’t be more delighted to mark the opening of the new Sight and Sound Centre, supported by Premier Inn, a life-changing facility which will make an immeasurable difference to the lives of children – and their families – across the UK. From marathons to sleepathons the endless creativity of our teams has helped ensure we hit our fundraising target and we’d like to offer them – and of course our guests – our heartfelt thanks for their amazing efforts”.

The incredible Sight and Sound Centre will house Ophthalmology and Audiology (including cochlear implant) specialities, as well as Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) and speech and language therapy services. The opening of the centre represents a major milestone in the history of Great Ormond Street Hospital, and in the partnership between GOSH Charity and Premier Inn. For more information about the Sight and Sound Centre supported by Premier Inn, please visit gosh.org

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