If we’ve visited your hospital over the last year, the chances are that you will have met Dan, our Project Manager. Dan is one of the newest members of our team and, not too long ago, he celebrated his one-year anniversary with us at Grosvenor Interiors.

We caught up with him recently to find out a little bit more about what he does, hear all about his first year and what he’s learnt about making hospitals better over the last twelve months.

Tell us a little bit more about what you do at Grosvenor Interiors

I’m the Project Manager at Grosvenor Interiors and so it’s my responsibility to oversee the successful delivery of our projects within hospitals. I’m involved through the whole process; from initial conversations and meetings with clients; through to the design stages and, once everyone is happy; bringing everything together and arranging anything that is needed in order to enhance a space and create a high-quality ward.

You recently celebrated your first year in your role, congratulations! What was it that made you want to work for Grosvenor?

It’s been a great year at Grosvenor! I applied for the job, quite honestly, because I was interested in doing something that genuinely helped people. I was trying to whittle down what I was looking for in a job and healthcare was something that I was very interested in, but I also had no idea where someone with my experience fit into that world! I had a look through some job websites to try to get some idea of what was available and the Grosvenor ad stuck out to me. It was written differently to most of the job descriptions I was seeing, it seemed much more personal and the company’s goals were exactly what I was looking for, so I applied hoping that I was what they were looking for too! I met with Colin a couple of times, one of which involved visiting some of the hospitals that Grosvenor were working with to see the impact that their work had first-hand and I was sold… thankfully, so was Colin!

Have you worked in a similar role before?

Prior to Grosvenor, I was an Operations Manager at one of the UK’s largest events companies, much to the amusement of many of our clients who have asked me about my background! Much like in my current position, it was extremely important to be hands-on with every aspect of what was going on at all times in order to deliver the best possible result. It was a very different environment to work in and got me very used to expecting the unexpected (and managing a little stress…) though I will be extremely happy if I never have to see another foam cannon or ball pit in my life!

What would you say is the biggest thing you’ve learnt since working for Grosvenor Interiors?

How to successfully navigate around a hospital! A few years ago, I had to have some blood taken and I ended up entering my local hospital and walking around the whole building trying to find signs for Phlebotomy, only to discover when I (finally!) arrived that I had entered the building around 50 feet away from the door and had started walking in the wrong direction so I couldn’t see any maps until I was nearer to the main entrance than where I was trying to go! My day immediately starts on a good note when I arrive at a hospital and see clear signs to where I need to be.

And the most surprising?

How fast our fitting teams can completely transform a room. I’m the kind of person that takes three weeks to paint a bedroom, so seeing how fast these guys work and the results they get is amazing. We worked on a project recently where we just didn’t have enough time for the hospital to arrange for painting to happen in a room, so we just ‘Wallglamoured’ all of the walls instead and it looked amazing!

When I move to a new house, I may seriously consider using WallGlamour rather than painting. Although, saying that, Peter and I tried to install some WallGlamour in our design studio and it turns out they just make it look easy so I may have to stick to painting!

Is there a particular project that you’re proud to have been part of?

I’m always proud to see the results of our work but the recent makeover of the therapy room on the Teenage Cancer Trust Unit at the Royal Marsden has been my biggest moment of standing back to look at the result and being really pleased. The completed room is so vastly different from the one that I saw on my taster day with Colin a year ago. It’s gone from being quite a dated, cold bathroom to a room that wouldn’t look out of place in a five star health spa. The lead up to this project was intense too as we were responsible for managing all aspects of the enhancements; from ventilation, fire alarms and flooring to the furniture, lighting and WallGlamour, something that was out of the ordinary as the hospital estates team will often be involved in some of these elements. The work was absolutely worth it when it came to the end result, though. I’ve even shown my parents.

What impact do you hope to see Grosvenor’s work have for hospital users in the future?

One of the things that has really struck me over the past year is just how big of an impact what we do has. When I first looked at the Grosvenor website I thought that it seemed like a great idea as I was aware of how important a positive mindset and environment can have on the recovery of a patient, but after actually meeting patients and families of patients who are able to make use of what we do, the impact really is far beyond what I had expected. As busy as we often are and as hectic our days can get, it’s completely worth it when I get to see or hear that it’s made a difference, so the more spaces we can improve in the future, the better!

If you were designing the ward of your dreams, the ultimate place to get better, what three things would be top of your wish list?

I think that I probably want the things that (I imagine) everyone wants in their own house: high speed internet, a nice TV and, of course, my drum kit in the corner! Maybe I should throw in some soundproofing too… but I wouldn’t want to cut into my pizza oven budget!

If you’d like to find out more about how Dan and the rest of the team can help you to create a better ward for your patients to get better, get in touch today.