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We are taking part in a 13 mile walk all in aid of Birmingham Children’s Hospital – and to help rebuild the Emergency Department.

The Emergency Department of Birmingham Children’s Hospital is the gateway to state-of-the-art treatment in one of Britain’s most iconic hospitals – and for some of the most dangerously ill or seriously injured youngsters, their only chance of survival.

For these youngsters, the first hour after they arrive at the Emergency Department, often in an ambulance with blue lights flashing, after their accident or critical illness, is crucial to their long-term prospects. It is here that their condition is assessed by some of the hospital’s most experienced specialists who decide the next stage of their treatment.

The Emergency Department treats youngsters from all over the West Midlands and has to cope with everything from broken toes to severe trauma after major road accidents. Not surprisingly, it is always packed with children and their families – and the Arctic conditions in December which triggered a string of infections and breathing problems, made this the department’s busiest month on record. In fact it treated a staggering 4,450 children and the demand just keeps on growing.

Despite its importance and the expertise of its staff, the Emergency Department is currently very much a ‘Cinderella’ area with dark, cramped waiting areas, dilapidated decor and inefficient lay-out, all of which means a demoralising experience for its young patients, many of them already frightened or in pain.

Top priority for everyone busy fund-raising for the ED is to give the whole place a face-lift, making it lighter, more spacious and more welcoming. They aim to give the ward a major re-design to increase its efficiency, placing the nurses’ station in the middle and providing separate entrances for the ‘walking wounded’ and the youngsters – often critically ill or injured – who arrive by ambulance.

One major element on the wish-list is a parents’ room where patients’ families would get peace and privacy to talk to doctors and sometimes, tragically, to receive bad news.

All this does not come cheap – around £500,000 for a full re-fit – but with luck and thanks to the enormous generosity of BRMB in choosing the Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Department as their main Walkathon charity, it could soon be a reality.