SURGERY
surgeon
We have a dedicated website that demonstrates the difference the Tick Tock Club has already made to children, and tells you why we urgently need a new surgery centre to help even more sick children get better in the future. You can also meet some of our young patients, including Leo in his exclusive video interview with his surgeon Dr Kate Cross, and watch a short video explaining why your support for this worldclass centre is so critical.
When I grow up I want to work in demolition. Did you always want to be a surgeon? I think I always wanted to be a doctor and I always wanted to look after children. When I was a little girl, my brother was very sick and spent a lot of time in hospital, so I wanted to help children like him, and children like you, Leo.
www.gosh.org/tick-tock-club
You were born in Australia. What made you come and work in UK? It wasn’t the weather! I came to the UK because of the hospital. Great Ormond Street Hospital does amazing things for babies and children that most other places in the world don’t do. How many operations do you do a year? I perform more than 300 operations and my colleagues would do a similar amount. We perform thousands of operations in general surgery, but then there are thousands more operations taking place throughout the hospital too. Why does the hospital need a new surgery centre? The hospital has been here for a long time. Buildings that were acceptable 30 years ago are now too small, and some of the equipment we use is a bit out of date. A new surgery centre would give us more space, allow parents to spend more time with their
Leo after his operation last year
children, and ensure patients in the hospital are more comfortable, which will help them recover faster. The new centre will also enable our surgery team to work more effectively and help even more children. How does the Tick Tock Club make a difference to the hospital? The Tick Tock Club is very important because the hospital needs lots of developments, in terms of space and equipment, and it’s not always possible to get these things. People supporting the Tick Tock Club mean that we are able to have these
essential improvements, which help us care for children. What will the new surgery centre mean for children like me? Children won’t need to stay in hospital for as long after they have had an operation. It means that patients will have more space and families will be able to stay with their children. Overall, it will be a much nicer place for you to come and get better. Thank you, Kate. This has been Leo reporting from Great Ormond Street Hospital. THE TICK TOCK CLUB NEWSLETTER
09