First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to support the work of Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) in 2018 after visiting the charity’s exhibit at Holyrood and meeting with its Chief Executive.
Speaking to Roslyn Neely, Chief Executive at ECHC, the First Minister praised the invaluable work the charity provides to children’s services beyond Edinburgh, all across Scotland.
The First Minister was particularly interested to hear about the charity’s Arts Programme which provides creativity and fun distractions for children and the ECHC Hub service. This service, which is unique to Scotland, will improve children and young people’s self-esteem and well-being while offering support to families facing financial hardship, stress or anxiety due to having a child in hospital.
Ms Sturgeon and MSP colleagues have been hearing about the charity’s work this week in Parliament and learning about the impact of ECHC’s work on helping children, young people and families all across the country. The charity’s support of children and young people has also received backing from a Parliamentary Motion.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity does some incredible work supporting children and families in the east of Scotland as well as raising funds for equipment and services.
“I was honoured to have the opportunity to meet Roslyn and hear first-hand about their work. I’m sure ECHC will go from strength to strength over the next year.”
Despite the continued support from families across Scotland, its mission to raise money to buy vital equipment and services remains as important as ever.
Roslyn said: “It is incredible to have the backing of the First Minister. We really appreciate the support we receive from all politicians which allows us to reach people who may not be aware of our work.
“While people mostly associate us with working in Edinburgh, we are in fact heavily involved in projects supporting children across Scotland. We exist to transform the experiences of children and young people in many healthcare settings. We are very grateful for all the support we receive and appreciate the boost this was given today from the First Minister.”
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