FORMER NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF OMEP UK, PAMELA BARNES WAS HONOURED WITH THE TITLE MEMBER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

Former National President of OMEP UK, Pamela Barnes was honoured with the title MEMBER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE on December 6, 2013.

In the mid-nineties Pamela Barnes MBE served as the National President in UK. In addition to the OMEP representation, she presented papers on “Hospital Play” and introduced the profession of “hospital play specialists” to OMEP members thoughout the world.  For more than a decade she has been the chairman of “Action for Sick Children” in the UK and has supported the “Charter for Children in Hospital”. This was introduced at the 1st European Conference on Children in Hospital in 1998. The European Association for Children in Hospital (EACH) adopted the Action for Sick Children Charter (of 1991) as the EACH “Charter for Children in Hospital”.

Pamela’s engagement for children in hospital started back in the sixties when her own little son, Andrew, was taken to hospital and she was forced to leave him behind by himself. Many parents still remember the tragedies taking place when they were told to leave their young children in the care of hospital staff and make no visits.

For a number of years Pamela has been and still is the chairman of “Action for Sick Children”. The Charity, among other activities, has published books and arranged conferences, courses and launched projects which have given parents, hospital staff, doctors, health workers  and politicians new knowledge and methods of dealing with this important subject.

Pamela Barnes has been the voice for sick children and their families for a great number of years. At the Investiture at Buckingham Palace on Dec. 6 2013 she received the most excellent order of the British Empire “for services to Child Health and Education” from H.R.H. The Prince of Wales.

http://www.actionforsickchildren.org.uk

Liv Cranner, former National President of OMEP in Norway