When you arrive

Arriving as an inpatient

If you are an inpatient, it means that you will come to Alder Hey and stay for at least one night. This means that you will be sleeping on one of our wards, for however long your stay is with us.

When you arrive, the first thing you should do is check in with us so that we know you’re here. You’ll then be able to make your way to the ward that you will be staying on while you’re at the hospital.

If you’re unsure of what to do or where to go, our wonderful volunteers will happily help. Just look out for someone wearing a pink top.

Arriving for Surgery

If you’re coming to Alder Hey for surgery, then the process might be a little bit different. For example, you may be coming in as a day case, which means you won’t be an inpatient and will leave the same day.

You may also need to check in at a different location, so just tell this to one of our volunteers who will guide you to the right place.

For more information, go to our Surgery page.

Holly – Cuddle Manager

Holly our therapy dog and her owner Barry

Barry and our therapy dog Holly visit several times per week and visit our Atrium, Outpatient department, wards and newly opened Sunflower House. It’s really important that before and after Holly has had a cuddle or a stroke we wash our hands to reduce any risk of germs or infection.

Evidence has shown that pet therapy can reduce feelings of loneliness or isolation, encourage communication and social skills, and provide comfort during stressful times, such as during medical treatment. Additionally, depression and anxiety levels usually decrease in patients who receive pet therapy.

Barry and Holly can also be requested to spend time with individual children and young people at Alder Hey, such as those who are missing their own pets during a long stay and those with fears or phobias of dogs.

Pet therapy is not permitted in the following clinical areas; critical care floor, ward 3B, isolation rooms, ward 1C (neonatal / cardiology unit), treatment rooms, kitchens, pharmacies and in rooms of patients that are immunocompromised. Holly also can’t visit during meal times.

We know how much our children, young people and families enjoy seeing Holly and it’s the same for our Alder Hey colleagues, who look forward to meeting Holly and Barry on their travels across the hospital.

For any enquiries about Holly please email [email protected]

You can find out more about Pets as Therapy Charity who do all this at https://petsastherapy.org/