My Life: Ellie Milner, 19, Birmingham

I am a member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s (RCPCH) youth advisory panel and a former patient of Birmingham ?Children’s Hospital.

I attended the RCPCH’s education centre supporters’ event last month at St James’s Palace where I shared my experience of children’s hospital services with more than 100 invited guests, including The Princess Royal. It was nerve-racking, but as a young person who is an ambassador for child health, I felt honoured to have the opportunity to highlight the ?importance of paediatric care.

The event was organised to raise awareness, and money, to build a state-of-the-art centre of excellence in health education. It will train paediatricians and healthcare professionals in the UK and around the world.

Since I was seven, I have received treatment for asthma at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. My respiratory problems have caused me to have numerous emergency admissions. ?Unfortunately, there have been times when I have had to be admitted into intensive care and I count myself fortunate to have received paediatric care second to none.

We trust royal colleges to make sure the doctors caring for us don’t just carry the credentials, but are credible and worthy of the title. ?Doctors caring for us should be trained to the highest standards – the standard we deserve. This is why the education centre is so important.

For more details on the RCPCH Education Centre appeal, visit www.rcpch.ac.uk/appeal.