Ward Buddies are there when parents can’t be, giving comfort, connection, and emotional care to the youngest children during hospital stays — helping them feel safe, seen, and supported, even in the toughest times.
Donate to Ward Buddies
Thanks to Gift Aid and the generosity of businesses covering our operational costs, 100% of your donation goes directly to supporting children who would otherwise be left alone in hospital.
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What We Do
We sit by their side so they don’t feel alone.
Ward Buddies are trained, friendly faces who spend time with young children in hospital when parents or carers need to step away — whether for a few hours or just to grab a breath of fresh air.
Long hospital stays can be isolating, and parents often have other children or commitments, making it impossible to be at the bedside every moment.
NHS nurses are the superheroes of our hospitals — they care deeply for every child. But they’re stretched and often have to focus on the urgent physical care children need, leaving them less time than they’d like to support each child’s emotional wellbeing.
Many nurses have told us they feel reassured knowing Ward Buddies are there — that children’s emotional needs are being met with warmth, time, and presence.
How We Work
We’ve partnered with Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, providing funding to help hire, train, or support staff members — to fulfil the Ward Buddy role.
This enables the hospital to:
Why Ward Buddies Matter
Hospital days can be some of the hardest days in a family’s life.
For children, long stays mean missing home, siblings, friends, and the comfort of family. For parents, it can be impossible to stay every moment by their child’s bedside while caring for other children, working, or taking care of themselves.
Ward Buddies step in as an extra helping hand, ensuring children feel safe and emotionally supported while giving parents the chance to rest, refresh, and breathe, knowing their child is in caring hands.
Together, we can help prevent the long-term mental health impacts of hospital-related isolation, giving children a stronger chance to thrive long after they leave hospital.
Get Involved
Your donations help us fund training, clinical oversight, and staffing so Ward Buddies can directly support children at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and, one day, beyond.
Run, cycle, host a bake sale, or create your own challenge to raise funds for Ward Buddies—helping bring comfort and connection to children who need it most. Get started at Just Giving.
Jamie McDonald is an inspirational keynote speaker who can energise, engage, and inspire your staff to take on an impossible mission of their own. By booking Jamie to speak at your conference or event, you’ll also be helping Ward Buddies reach more children who need us.
We’ve made a bold promise: 100% of donations go directly to helping children feel less alone in hospital. To keep Ward Buddies sustainable, we’re looking for partners to help support the backbone of the model—so we can continue reaching the children who need us most, now and in the future.
If you’re a hospital interested in Ward Buddies, let’s explore how we can support your families and staff together.
Our Vision.
💡 We believe no child should feel abandoned — and no parent should have to choose between caring for their child in hospital and caring for their family at home.
Starting here in Birmingham, our vision is to build a sustainable model of emotional bedside care that can be shared with hospitals nationwide, and even around the world 🌎