Princess of Wales opens new Children's Day Surgery Unit at Evelina London

The state-of-the-art Children's Day Surgery Unit at Evelina London Children's Hospital has been officially opened by Her Royal Highness, The Princess of Wales, Evelina London's Royal Patron.

Housed in the new Children's Day Treatment Centre, the space-themed facility has 2 operating theatres, and will help Evelina London to treat an additional 2,300 children per year.

To mark the occasion, Her Royal Highness was given a tour of the new unit and met with staff, patients undergoing procedures in the facility and their families. She heard how families are now waiting less on the day of surgery as pre-surgery checks, the operation, recovery and preparation for going home can all be done seamlessly in one place, on the same day.

Ella Moth, 9, and Chloe Morley, 10, joined The Princess of Wales to cut the ribbon on the door of the Children's Day Surgery Unit, marking it officially opened.

Chloe, from Eltham in south east London, was the first patient to be treated in the new unit in the summer when she had her tonsils and adenoids removed.

Ella had previously won a competition held by Evelina London to submit space-themed designs to inspire the interiors. She designed an astronaut school which now features in the main entrance of the unit, inspired by her father, Piers, who was treated for brain cancer at Guy's Hospital before he died in 2021.

The Princess of Wales met with staff who were involved in the planning of the project, ensuring the unit had the latest equipment and child-focused technology. She also took part in a futuristic arts and crafts session with some children and young people who have been treated there.

Another special patient who attended the event and met with The Princess was 9-year-old Tony Hudgell, who has received specialist and life-saving treatment at Evelina London since he was a baby. Tony has been a generous supporter of Evelina London Children's Charity through his fundraising efforts, and donated £500,000 to the new Children's Day Surgery Unit.

Gubby Ayida, Chief Executive of Evelina London, said: "We were thrilled to be joined by our Royal Patron, The Princess of Wales, to officially open our Children's Day Surgery Unit. We put children, young people and families at the heart of everything we do, and you especially feel that when coming into our new unit. It was lovely to have this recognised with The Princess of Wales today, who values the importance of having a supported and nurturing environment for children through her work with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood."

James O'Brien, Director of Operations and Improvement at Evelina London Children's Hospital and project sponsor, added: "Creating this vital new service has been a huge undertaking and I'd like to thank everyone involved in getting to this momentous milestone. Our new unit is out of this world and will help us to continue providing outstanding healthcare for even more children and young people, meeting their needs now and in the future."

Since opening in July, over 700 children and young people have been treated in the new unit.

The 6-storey Children's Day Treatment Centre was constructed by Morgan Sindall Construction, designed by ADP Architecture, and engineered by Mott MacDonald.