I am the Chair of Trustees for St George’s Hospital Charity. The Time for a Change Appeal is our largest ever appeal. It aims to raise £5m by March 2024 for children’s services at St George’s Hospital, Tooting, South London.

We launched the Appeal after having been approached by a number of parents whose children had been treated superbly at St George’s. But they -and we in the charity- felt that though the care at St George’s is outstanding, the facilities could be improved and updated.

I am taking part in the London to Brighton Bike Ride on 10 September along with a team of riders- including members of the St George’s Paediatric Team. It is a very challenging 55 mile ride with plenty of steep hills including Ditchling Beacon over the South Downs! I have been training guided by daughter, Polly, exploring all the steep hills south of London!

The Bike Ride is a major fundraising event for us. Please do sponsor me and so support the Appeal.

St George’s is one of London’s largest and busiest children’s hospitals with one of only four paediatric trauma units in London. It hosts the only Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in south west London. It is one of the top three centres for specialist paediatric surgery in London, and a centre of excellence in foetal medicine. Its specialist expertise means it looks after children nationally and regionally. Its care is rated outstanding by the regulator, the Care Quality Commission.

Your support will help us

• To expand the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit from six to ten beds and provide more space for families to be with their children.

It was St George’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit which looked after the children injured so horrifically at the Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon in July . No parent wants to need this unit but, if they do, the facilities need to be there. At the moment, the unit sometimes has to turn children away.

• To transform our children’s wards. The wards were originally designed forty years ago and need updating and modernising.

• To provide better facilities for our staff so they can feel proud of where they work.

Please give generously, sponsor me for this Bike Ride and support the Appeal which could make a real difference to children using St George’s services.