The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Merseyside

Royal Liverpool University Hospital

The Prince and Princess of Wales started the day at the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which opened its doors in October 2022, replacing the old hospital which had served the community for over four decades.

The state-of-the-art hospital is the biggest in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single en-suite bedrooms, improving patient experience, safety and enhanced recovery. With 640 beds, including 40 critical care beds for patients in the intensive care unit and high dependency unit, the Royal Liverpool hosts a number of specialist services and focuses on complex planned care.

It is also home to one of five High Consequences Infectious Disease (HCID) units in England and is NHS England’s lead HCID site.

During the visit, Their Royal Highnesses visited a ward to see the hospital’s new facilities, as well as meeting staff who have been working at the hospital during the busy winter period, including support staff and mental health first aiders to thank them for their service. 

Open Door Charity

The Prince and Princess of Wales then visited the Open Door Charity, which works on supporting young adults across Merseyside with their mental health, using culture and creativity as the catalyst for change.

They provide members with free, immediate access to an innovative range of creative therapeutic support options delivered by a frontline team of up to one hundred peer mentors. The charity also delivers progressive therapeutic models across the Liverpool City Region and nationally.

Programmes include Bazaar and Oomoo, developed to support young adults with any number of challenges that they might be facing. The Bazaar programme blends elements of cognitive behavioural therapy, (CBT), mindfulness and more to help young people and young adults aged 17-35 understand their mind and provide them with the training, skills, tools and techniques to support themselves now and in the future.

The Oomoo programme has been developed for care experienced young people aged 11-18 living on the Wirral to help them navigate life’s ups and downs and offers activities such as dance classes, film nights and wellbeing activities.

At the charity’s flagship Bloom Building, Their Royal Highnesses met volunteers, mentors and staff to learn about the support the charity offers to young people across their various programmes.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have long been champions of the importance of young people’s mental health and Their Royal Highnesses are passionate about creating long term impact in this space through their ongoing work with The Royal Foundation.