Visiting Great Ormond Street

We were delighted to launch Phase Two of our successful One-to-One Mentoring programme in Great Ormond Street Hospital earlier this year. The programme offers virtual mentoring sessions to young people aged 11-18 at any point in their hospital journey. Mentoring sessions are delivered by a member of our world-class athlete team, all of whom have been trained to work one-to-one with young people to maximise their potential and empower them to take control of their wellbeing.

In April, Kelvin Batey, BMX World Champion and Athlete Mentor with the Trust, alongside Polly, our Programme Co‑ordinator, attended the hospital to meet health care professionals working with young people in the hospital to share information on the programme, and importantly, met as many young people as possible along with their families during the visit!

Whilst all our Athlete Mentors are continuing to champion and support young people in virtual mentoring sessions, the visit to Great Ormond Street was a great opportunity to connect in person with GOSH staff and young people to discuss the benefits of the mentoring programme and be inspired by each other.

Reflecting on the visit, Programme Coordinator Polly shared:

“It was an absolute delight to be at Great Ormond Street Hospital and meet with our GOSH programme champion, Lucy Waller. Lucy is the Team Lead & Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist within the Cancer, BMT, Immunology & Infectious Diseases department at GOSH, and does an incredible job at managing our Mentoring Programmefrom within the hospital.

Visiting each hospital ward was so emotionally impactful. The environment was so uplifting and positive, and speaking with the young people about their resilience through their own health journeys was complexly inspiring.

Kelvin and I also had the opportunity to engage with a wide range of professionals who support these young people on a daily basis, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and play practitioners. These conversations were invaluable in highlighting how staff can refer young people to the programme, and Kelvin was able to offer meaningful insight into the structure and impact of the mentoring sessions. He spoke about the person‑centred nature of the programme and how it empowers young people to explore goals beyond their hospital journey, focusing on building confidence, resilience and future aspirations.”

Kelvin, a long-standing athlete mentor on the programme, added:

“The visit to GOSH at the end of April was an inspiring and thought provoking day, meeting some amazing, brave and resilient Young People. As a group of mentors and staff at Dame Kelly Holmes Trust we are truly fortunate to have an amazing relationship with Great Ormond Street where we have the full confidence of the staff, families and patients to make a positive difference to Young People's lives as they go through their health journey. As I came out of Great Ormond Street after our visit and on the journey home, I reflected on all the conversations I had with each Young Person I met and felt truly privileged and inspired to be part of our Health Programme and look forward to working with more patients through our sessions very soon.”

 Any member of staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital can refer patients aged 11-18 to the One-to-One Mentoring Programme at Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. The programme aims to improve overall wellbeing by focusing on increasing self-esteem, resilience, and engagement in physical activity. For more information on the programme and how hospitals or funders can get involved, contact the Trust on contact@damekellyholmestrust.org