GOSH!

Antonia Dalmahoy, Director of Corporate Partnerships at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Children’s Charity, tells us all there is to know about her work and the relationship with Formula 1.

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Great Ormond Street Hospital is one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals with the broadest range of dedicated, children’s healthcare specialists under one roof in the UK. The hospital’s pioneering research and treatment gives hope to children who are suffering from the rarest, most complex and often life-threatening conditions, from across the country and abroad.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity needs to raise £50 million a year to help rebuild and refurbish Great Ormond Street Hospital, provide vital up-to-date equipment and fund research into better treatments for the children

In 2004 we were honoured to be chosen as the charity beneficiary for the British Grand Prix Ball. Our relationship with the Formula 1 community developed from there, and in 2005, with the kind permission of Bernie Ecclestone himself, we were able to host our first F1 Party – the only official launch party for the British Grand Prix.

Formula 1 has also lent a helping hand to Great Ormond Street Hospital in an altogether unexpected way. One of the most perilous times during the care of a seriously ill child is the handover between surgery and intensive care. Senior technicians from Vodafone, McLaren, Mercedes and Scuderia Ferrari F1 teams visited the hospital to observe and evaluate surgery teams in action, while two hospital consultants travelled to Ferrari’s Italian base in Maranello to observe the perfect choreography of pit stops at first hand. The project had a very real impact with several new processes and mechanisms implemented in the operating theatres.

Down to it

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the F1 Party in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and over the past decade, the Formula 1 community has raised more than £3 million to help us bring hope to very ill children and their families, including £2.6 million towards a new heart and lung centre, which opened in June 2012. Since 2012 we have been raising money for a new surgery centre, which will allow the hospital to treat children with rare and complex conditions in state-of-the-art facilities which match the world-class care provided by its doctors and nurses.

Each year, a group of Great Ormond Street Hospital patients who are fanatical about Formula 1 are invited to enjoy a once in a lifetime experience as Bernie Ecclestone’s VIP ‘access all areas’ guests at Silverstone, enjoying the Grand Prix from the paddock and meeting their Formula 1 heroes.

Planned with the help of Tamara Ecclestone, the F1 Party is a chance to use the glamour and excitement of the Grand Prix to raise vital funds to help make a real difference for Great Ormond Street Hospital’s young patients. As well as giving guests the chance to see Formula 1 stars and cars up close, it’s really important for us to show them how their generosity is helping the hospital. This year, an amazing mum whose baby daughter had surgery at the hospital will be speaking about her experiences.

During the last ten years, the Formula 1 community has really come together to help raise vital funds for the charity – we’re incredibly grateful for all their support.