This McDonald's is a lifeline for parents

Ronald McDonald House, with all the home comforts, is within a stone's throw of the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children in Brighton.

It is a base for parents and families of seriously-ill children in the hospital who need to be close by.

When the Royal Alex in Dyke Road transfers to a purpose-built multi-storey building at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Eastern Road in 2007, the house will be coming with it.

Among those indebted to the project are Ella Mitchell and her husband Gary.

Katy, their two-year-old only child, was born with a rare chromosome disorder and has spent almost all her life either at the Royal Alex or Guy's Hospital in London.

Mrs Mitchell, 30, gave up her job as a hotel manager in Alfriston to be with Katy while her husband, a catering manager, spends all his free time with them.

The family live in Newhaven and have lost count of the number of times they have travelled to Brighton and the capital.

Mrs Mitchell said: "Katy has almost always been critically ill. Her condition has left her with developmental difficulties and she also has epilepsy and a chronic lung condition.

"Being able to stay at the house has been such a relief. We would have gone bankrupt if we had to keep paying for accommodation. Knowing I can be just around the corner and get to Katy quickly is very comforting.

Families can stay for free for a couple of days, several weeks or even months if necessary.

The house, which marks its fifth anniversary this year, has eight bedrooms, a dining room, two lounges, two kitchens, a utility room and three toilets, bathroom and shower areas.

Each bedroom is fully equipped with a TV, a cot if necessary and a phone with a direct line to the hospital.

Users cater for themselves but can meet up and relax as they try to unwind after the stresses and strains of the day.

Housekeeper and parent liaison worker Angela Salter has been involved since the project's inception.

She has been there to help parents through some of the most emotionally draining experiences of their lives.

Mrs Salter said: "I have seen the whole gamut of emotions. There is the joy when a child gets better and is able to go home and the sadness when a young patient does not make it.

"Having a place like this is so important for parents. Having a place where they can go and cry and let everything out can really help."

Mrs Mitchell said: "Angela has been wonderful and is now a friend. She is always supportive and cares about Katy just as much as we do. Being able to go to the house and have a cup of coffee and a chat with her when I am feeling bad is a bonus.

"The people at the house in Guy's are just as lovely. If Katy is at the Alex and needs to be suddenly transferred to London, Angela gets on the phone to the house at Guy's and lets them know we are on the way."

Mrs Salter is well aware of the difficulties parents are experiencing. Her son Lee was in and out of the Royal Alex for 13 years because he suffered from chronic asthma and was seriously ill many times.

Doctors did not think he would survive but he is now a healthy 30-year-old with three children of his own.

Mrs Salter said: "When your child is ill your whole world comes to a crashing halt and you don't believe there is anyone else who can understand.

"But there are people who are there to help and support you. Sometimes you just need to give someone a hug or let them talk about what has happened. However, it is not all sadness. There are children I have seen at birth struggling to survive who are now teenagers."

One boy sticks in Mrs Salter's memory.

She said: "He was a little boy who died a couple of years ago and who had come into the hospital a lot. He knew I liked boxer dogs because I used to bring my own dogs into the hospital to see the patients.

"A couple of weeks before he died he insisted his mother buy me two stone statues of boxers to go in my garden. I would not part with them for the world."

The house tends to provide places for parents of children who are going to be in hospital for a few days at least. If it is only an overnight stay, the parent is more likely to stay at the hospital itself.

The house is supported through the Ronald McDonald Children's Charity but owned by the hospital authorities. It is backed by charities, including the Round Table, and support groups across the county.

It is decorated in light, airy colours with the intention to make it as far-removed from a hospital environment as possible. There are comfortable couches, paintings on the walls, plants, table lamps and patterned curtains along with well-stocked kitchens.

Books, games, videos and toys are available. Tea and coffee are supplied but not food, although cans of beans and spaghetti are left in each room new arrivals who have not had the time to get supplies.

There are five similar houses in the UK including one at Guy's.

The others are at King's College Hospital in London, Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow and the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

The new Ronald McDonald house will be at the top of the new children's unit and kept as separate as possible from the medical environment around it.