Little Ted wins big award

Two books for children receiving treatment at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Evelina London Children’s Hospital have triumphed at this year’s British Medical Association (BMA) Patient Information Awards.

The Little Ted Education Pack, for children diagnosed with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) – a rare genetic condition that affects the skin’s ability to repair damage from ultraviolet light – won the children’s information category.

The pack was developed by registered charity Teddington Trust with advice and guidance from the XP team at St John’s Institute of Dermatology at Guy’s and St Thomas’, the only centre in the UK that diagnoses and treats XP.

Teddington Trust was set up by Nicola Miller, whose son Eddison was diagnosed with XP at St John’s Institute.

Nicola says: “Since Eddison’s first XP clinic we looked for ways to help him understand his condition, and we immediately looked for age appropriate reading that might help us find the words to explain. Unfortunately we found nothing that really helped, so I started writing his own Little Ted story to help us introduce the concepts to him.

“We were more than a little surprised with our win, it’s fantastic, and only possible due to the outstanding work and commitment from everyone involved in helping to turn Little Ted into what he is today.”

Eddie Echo and Me at Evelina London, a book which helps prepare children for heart surgery, was highly commended at the BMA Patient Information Awards.

Play specialist Clare Perrett had the initial idea when she noticed that there wasn’t anything of its kind to explain heart surgery to younger children.

She teamed up with clinical psychologist Melinda Edwards to write and develop the idea into a book.