Ronald McDonald House Charities UK has announced a multi-million-pound refurbishment of its 83-bedroom House which provides free accommodation for families of children being treated here at Alder Hey.
Families staying in the House live, on average, 54 miles away; the House keeps the family unit together, close to their child in hospital, and helps them maintain a degree of normal family life.
The announcement was made at an exclusive event at the Charity’s House on Thursday 14 September, which was attended by families, staff, and loyal supporters of the Charity.
In 2010, actor Ricky Tomlinson donated £1 million to Ronald McDonald House Alder Hey, to help fund a £1.5 million extension project. The House’s next major improvement project will see more than £11 million invested into a substantial refurb to ensure the 30-year-old building, which requires major modernisation, can continue to meet the needs of families and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital for many years to come.
The refurbishment will include:
- A complete refit of all bedrooms and ensuite bathroom replacements
- Adding family kitchens to each floor
- The creation of interconnecting rooms for larger / blended families
- Improving the dayroom facilities to allow for more families to make use of the house and offer complementary services such as hairdressing, yoga and family support
- A relandscaped garden with new, dedicated space for families to relax and children to play
The work, which will begin early next year, will take place in two phases, allowing the House to remain partly operational throughout. It will bring the facility up to the high-quality standards of Ronald McDonald House Charities UK’s nationwide ‘home away from home’ accommodation and is due to be complete in late 2025.
Richard Farish, Director of UK Estates and Facilities for Ronald McDonald House Charities UK said: “We’re really excited about this project, which will see a full refurbishment of the existing House, including the exterior façade, interior redesign, and new building services. It includes environmentally sustainable solutions for energy and water use and will add attributes that synergise with the Alder Hey’s healthcare ambitions of whole-family wellbeing, healthy lifestyle, and day patient support.”
The design has been driven by feedback from families who’ve stayed in one of the Charity’s 14 Houses across the UK, as well as advice from the House staff. Discussions with NHS partners at Alder Hey and across the Charity’s network have also helped to inform design decisions. Over the coming weeks, a group of young people from Alder Hey’s Youth Forum will visit the House to offer their feedback.
The improvements to Ronald McDonald House Alder Hey will benefit more than 900 families who stay each year, people like 38-year-old retail manager Claire Sharples, from Atherton, Greater Manchester. Claire and her husband Mike, a 41-year-old scoring and information manager, stayed at the House in 2018 when their new-born son required heart surgery at just 10 days old.
Claire said: “Discovering our first-born child Theodore had a serious heart condition just one day after he was born was such a huge shock, especially as it hadn’t been picked up during my pregnancy scans. He had to be rushed from Royal Bolton Hospital to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in an ambulance; it was so dramatic and scary.
“Thankfully, we were given a bedroom at the Ronald McDonald House, just a stone’s throw away from Theodore’s ward. While I stayed with him in hospital for most of our three-week stay, Mike slept at the House, which saved us from having to pay for a hotel and meant we could be together as family.”
Theodore is now a happy and healthy five-year-old, who enjoys school, sport, reading, and being a big brother to two-year-old Penelope. But Claire and Mike have never forgotten the support they had from Ronald McDonald House Alder Hey during Theodore’s challenging first few weeks of life.
Claire added: “The fact we didn’t have to worry about where to stay was just amazing and gave us such peace of mind. Over the past few years, we’ve raised around £10k for the Charity, as we’ve always been keen to give something back. Although we cannot fault the staff and volunteers at the House, the building itself is clearly in need of modernisation, so it’s fantastic to hear about the refurbishment. I’d urge anyone who can to support the project, as you never know when you or your family might need this wonderful facility.”
Ronald McDonald House Charities UK is an independent charity, which operates 14 Houses across England, Wales, and Scotland, providing free ‘home away from home’ accommodation. The Houses keep families together, close to their children in hospital. They provide a place to sleep, cook and retain some sense of normal life; a lifeline for families at a very stressful time, especially when they are far from home. Last year, Ronald McDonald House Charities UK accommodated 6,600 families, saving them more than 10 million miles in travel.
Ronald McDonald House Alder Hey is located next to the world-famous Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. Previously independently run, the House, which is the largest Ronald McDonald House in Europe, was merged into the Ronald McDonald House Charities UK Operational structure in 2022. It has 83 bedrooms, including 15 longer-stay apartments, providing families with a homely, warm and welcoming environment, where they can stay for as long as their child is in hospital. This can be weeks, months or in some cases, even years. Last year, the House supported 979 families who stayed for an average of 15 nights.
The Charity has raised the majority (£9 million) of the funds needed for the project but is launching a £2 million public appeal, calling on the local community to raise the remaining funds required for the vital refurbishment.
To donate to the Ronald McDonald House Alder Hey refurb appeal, please visit: www.rmhc.org.uk/liverpool-appeal