Your local hospital.
A life-changing backpack.

By supporting Southampton Hospitals Charity this Christmas, you’ll help fund care and innovation that change lives – so more children can be home for the moments that matter most.

For many children, being unwell means long days – and sometimes nights – spent in hospital. The sound of monitors, the beeping of machines, the steady rhythm of hospital life becomes part of their everyday world.

Now imagine that same child being able to wake up in their own bed on Christmas morning. The smell of breakfast from the kitchen, laughter from the next room, the sparkle of wrapping paper and the warmth of being together.

That’s what your kindness could help make possible.

Inside each backpack is a small, battery-powered medical pump – known as a CADD pump – that gently delivers a child’s medicine through a fine line into their vein. It’s programmed and monitored by hospital specialists, so treatment stays safe and effective, even at home. For children who need continuous cancer therapy, this innovation can mean fewer nights in hospital and more precious time with family.

By supporting Southampton Hospitals Charity this Christmas, you’ll help fund care and innovation that change lives – so more children can be home for the moments that matter most.

Aria’s story

“I’m Suzanne – 11-year-old Aria’s mum. Last Christmas, our whole world stopped when she was diagnosed with cancer. But thanks to the incredible team at your local University Hospital Southampton, and kind people in our community, she received a backpack that could deliver her cancer medicine safely at home.”

“One moment, Aria was a lively girl who loved acting and days at the seaside; the next, we were living life between hospital walls. Those first few weeks were a blur of scans, surgery and fear. The doctors told us that without an emergency operation she might never walk again. And even after surgery, there were months of chemotherapy ahead – long hours in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV stand for every dose of treatment.”

“We called the chemo stand ‘the ballerina’! Because it twirls a lot, and sometimes the wires got caught up. I couldn’t really go far with it.” – Aria

“It was heartbreaking to see her tethered to machines day and night. But thanks to the incredible team at University Hospital Southampton and that clever little backpack, Aria could have her treatment safely at home – surrounded by the people who love her.”

“It’s amazing! The pump means I can go home. Go to school. And see my best friends!” – Aria

The difference your donation makes

Your generosity helps fund the life-changing care, equipment and innovation that give children the best chance to get better and be with the people they love.

Because of the small, battery-powered pumps inside these backpacks, children can continue treatment safely at home while specialist nurses check in, guide parents, and make sure no family ever feels alone.

Your Christmas gift of £60 could help fund the next innovation that brings hospital and home closer together – so more children can be home for the moments that matter most.

Your Christmas gift of £40 could help fund portable medical pumps that allow children to continue life-saving treatment safely at home, and spend more precious time with their families.

Your Christmas gift of £20 could help provide the essential equipment and supplies that make at-home treatment possible for children with serious illnesses.