'Amazing' children's charity that helped Max Johnson celebrates 10 years

A vital which provided a 'home from home' for campaigner has just celebrated its 10th birthday.

and are among the celebrity supporters of the . For more than a decade, it has provided accommodation for thousands of families with children receiving long-term hospital treatment.

Max's parents Paul and Emma, of Winsford, Cheshire, stayed with them for six months in 2017 as their desperately sick son waited for a new heart. His dad Paul, 50, a civil servant, said: "It is amazing accommodation.

"Without such an amazing facility, our financial situation would have been completely devastated, the cost would have wiped us out. Scott House is a real jewel, treasured as the difference it makes is incalculable."

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Since it opened in 2014, Scott House has supported 3,063 families, keeping them close to their seriously ill children at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. The average stay over the last ten years is 20 nights. One family stayed for 627 nights.

Many had a child receiving care at the renowned Children’s Heart Unit. Some stayed for months, or even years, at times hundreds of miles away from their own homes.

Their stories were often highlighted as part of the Mirror's 'Change the Law for Life' crusade, which saw a new law on introduced in 2020 in England. It was named in honour of Max and his heart donor Keira Ball, who tragically lost her life in a car accident near her home in Barnstaple, Devon in 2017.

Supporters, friends, and families both past and present gathered at Scott House to mark the 10th anniversary. Peter Sutton was with his ten-year-old son Oscar, who was diagnosed with two serious heart conditions on the same day that Scott House officially opened.

Peter, 53, from Killingworth, North Tyneside, said: "We received a key on that first day, and it was the timeliest, most important lifeline for our family at a time of huge stress and worry. Oscar was only eight days old at the time.

"Being able to stay just minutes away from the ward was so important, keeping us close to Oscar while he was fighting for his life and giving us a place where our family could process everything that was going on. Staying at Scott House took away so much stress and uncertainty."

He added: "I’m thrilled to say he’s doing great. He gets a bit out of breath when he's playing sports, but he's not going to be stopped.” Jane Featherstone, Chief Executive of The Sick Children's Trust, highlighted the importance of Scott House for families facing long hospital stays.

She said: "Without Scott House many families would face the difficult reality of staying in costly hotels, sleeping in their cars, or spending nights on uncomfortable hospital chairs. When your child is seriously ill, having a free, comfortable place to stay just moments from their bedside offers invaluable relief, helping to ease the burden during an incredibly challenging time."