Hospital’s new staff training room named in memory of eight-year-old Harvey

The new training room at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust’s Farncombe Road site in Worthing has officially been opened, with a special unveiling of a plaque for Harvey Baldwin, whom the room is named after.

Harvey was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia aged six and spent many weeks in Worthing Hospital. An inquisitive young boy, he asked questions about his blood and what happened to the samples that were taken. It was soon arranged for Harvey to visit the pathology laboratory; he was shown the specialist equipment used, looked down the microscope to see his own red and white cells, and most importantly, he went away with the answers to the questions he had been asking.

Harvey sadly passed away in 2014, aged eight, but he has left a remarkable legacy.

His curiosity inspired Harvey’s Gang, a charity formed to help young patients understand their healthcare. Youngsters with cancer and other serious illnesses become trainee biomedical scientists for the day and tour medical laboratories to see what happens to their blood. Hundreds of children have now followed in Harvey’s footsteps; they don specially designed lab coats, use a ‘trainee biomedical scientist’ pass to enter the facility and receive a certificate and goody bag. Children leave feeling empowered by the knowledge they have gained and become more at ease during their time in hospital.

Claire Baldwin, Harvey’s mother, attended the Harvey Room opening to unveil the plaque. She said: “I feel really honoured that ten years later he is still remembered by the Trust. It is fitting that the training room, where people begin their journey with the Trust, and sometimes their NHS career even, has been named after Harvey. It brings the work they will be doing back to the patient - patients like Harvey that they will be helping each day in their new job.”

Malcolm Robinson was also in attendance. Malcolm was Chief Biomedical Scientist at Worthing Hospital when Harvey was receiving his treatment and is the founder of Harvey’s Gang. He said: “It’s very important that Harvey is remembered. His tours continue to make a difference to hundreds of children – now reaching as far as a hospital in Tasmania! Seeing this plaque in his memory is really special.”

Val Fish, Head of Training and Development at the Hospital Trust, added: “We wanted to name the main room of our new building after a patient from the community and we immediately thought of Harvey. We have lots of people coming through this room every month so they will hear Harvey’s story and his memory will live on.”

Beginning locally, the unique initiative is now supporting young patients across the country and beyond. Malcolm is now retired and, as Harvey’s Gang has continued to grow, he and the charity’s trustees, which include Claire, have entrusted the Institute of Biomedical Science to take over the running. Now known as Harvey’s Lab Tours, Harvey’s legacy continues to help more children understand their treatment and meet the staff working to manage and diagnose their illnesses.