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Our Press Office is responsible for handling all media enquiries relating to the hospital, its staff, patients and families. If you have a media enquiry or wish to request an interview, photograph or access on site please contact the Press Office directly.
The Press Office is open:
Outside these hours if you have an urgent and important enquiry please contact Switchboard on 0151 228 4811.
Please note we will not take sales calls. If you do want the press team to see offers of goods or services please email communications@alderhey.nhs.uk instead.
We have made a selection of photography and film footage available to use. Download these from our Media Resources page.
We welcome all appropriate requests to speak to patients, families or staff at the hospital, but media representatives must not access the Alder Hey site without prior knowledge or permission from the Press Office. This includes access to the hospital Atrium. Please contact us in advance and we will work with you to coordinate your visit.
We will arrange any photography or interviews with patients and families only if consent is given. Access will also be dependent on the patient’s condition and with the permission of staff involved in that patient’s care. We are unable to arrange any photography or interviews outside of office hours.
All media must be accompanied by a member of our Press Office while on the hospital site.
Our patients and families will always remain our priority and we have appropriate measures in place to protect them when filming or photography takes place on the hospital campus. Written parental consent must be taken by the Press Office team before photographing or filming anyone under the age of 16, even if visibility is minimal.
For more information about arranging access to the hospital please click here.
We are extremely grateful to the many celebrities, costumed characters and entertainers who visit our patients and families. We understand many of these visits are of interest to local photographers and media. Our primary duty of care is always to ensure the privacy and safety of our patients, families and staff. We understandably have procedures in place to enable us to provide the very best experience for our patients, while minimising disruption to their care and adhering to the highest standards of safeguarding and infection prevention.
Please be aware that any media access during any visit must be arranged directly with the hospital’s Press Office.
Any unauthorised photographers or media will be asked to leave the hospital immediately. We cannot guarantee you will be allowed access to the hospital if you have not contacted us in advance.
If you are contacted about a visit to Alder Hey by someone other than the hospital’s Press Office please contact us immediately on 0151 293 3502.
Please contact the Press Office directly if you require an official comment from the Hospital or would like to request a spokesperson to talk about a particular patient, condition or treatment.
Alder Hey has been involved in several TV programmes in recent years and we welcome proposals to film at Alder Hey. If you have a proposal for filming Alder Hey as part of a documentary or series please email it to the Press Office. We will consider and discuss proposals with the appropriate staff before agreeing our involvement. Access will only be given once a contract has been signed between Alder Hey and the film company concerned.
If you wish to film at Alder Hey for a short promotional DVD or film please email details including timings to the Press Office.
All crews will be asked to provide a copy of their liability insurance and a risk assessment before filming on Alder Hey’s site. A member of the Press Office will accompany crews to co-ordinate approaches to film families or staff and to ensure appropriate consent is taken.
A location fee may need to be agreed to cover resource for bigger projects. Information or filming access for non-medical programmes or TV dramas may only be provided on the agreement a donation is made to the Alder Hey Children’s Charity.
CBBC’s BAFTA award-winning medical show Operation Ouch! is regularly filmed at Alder Hey, and we welcomed them back in 2017. The popular series, hosted by Drs Chris and Xand Van Tullerken is jam-packed with incredible facts about the human body and lots of experimenting and exploration of the fascinating world of medicine.
Operation Ouch! is a Maverick Production for CBBC. You can read more about it here or watch clips on the Operation Ouch! YouTube channel.
Please be aware that condition checks can only be given if the patient's full name and either address or date of birth is given. This information is necessary for us to identify the patient. Condition checks will only be provided once we have received consent from the family.
We are unable to provide details of injuries, dates of admission/discharge or ward numbers.
You can view our news archive by clicking here.
All FOI requests are handled by our Information Governance Team. Read more about making a Freedom of Information request.
Alder Hey does not provide endorsements for any commercial companies, products or suppliers. For more information please contact the Press Office team.
Alder Hey Children's Charity
