23 April 2025

Families of seriously ill children on the Isle of Wight are set to receive new vital support and training. The Better at Home Mobile Resource which is a project by WellChild, the national charity for seriously ill children, has been officially unveiled at St Mary’s Hospital. The equipment is designed to deliver essential training for families whose children have complex medical needs to enable them to move from the hospital and live safely in the comfort of their own homes.

This cutting-edge resource is the 16th in WellChild's nationwide network of Better at Home facilities which empowers parents and caregivers in acquiring life-saving skills and interventions for the children in their care. Using specialist equipment to simulate real-life scenarios, the Better at Home programme gives families the chance to prepare for providing care at home in a private and secure environment.

Among those set to benefit from this new facility is the family of Ava Hipkiss-Walker, aged 3, from Shanklin, who was born very prematurely, resulting in chronic lung disease as well as problems with her heart and sight. The Better at Home Training kit ensures families like Ava’s can receive specialist training in a private and comfortable setting, free from the distractions of a hospital ward.

Having spent the first few months of her life in and out of the hospital, Ava is now at home with her Mum, Lily, and her Dad, David.

Lily said: “I think the WellChild Better at Home Training equipment will massively help families like ours. The confidence with tracheostomy training is especially important. It will give people the chance to feel more comfortable around such a big thing, so it’ll make a huge difference.”

The Mobile Training Kit can be transported to convenient locations for families and medical professionals in the area to have an opportunity for focused education, better preparing parents and caregivers for potential crises or emergency situations.

Paula Brooke who is a dedicated WellChild Nurse at  St Mary's Hospital, said: “It’s so important to have this WellChild Better at Home training equipment because we just wouldn’t be able to provide the training that we do without it. We go into schools, we go into homes, we do training on the wards to enable children to go home – really what we want is them to be out in the community, doing the things that all the other children are doing – and with this equipment we can allow them to do that.”

WellChild CEO, Matt James, expressed his enthusiasm for the new addition to the programme, stating: “Our Better at Home suites and training equipment are vital in giving parents and carers the skills and confidence they need to care for their children safely at home, where they will have the very best chance to thrive. We’re delighted to bring this support to families on the Isle of Wight, helping to ensure more children with complex medical needs can leave hospital sooner and receive the care they need in the place that’s best for them.”