At Grosvenor, we know that small changes can make a big difference to patients and staff.
One of our recent projects was improving the environment at a cancer ward at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.
Fiona Taylor is Senior Charge Nurse for a 23-bed ward in the Edinburgh Cancer Centre and is also involved with FACE (Fighting Against Cancer Edinburgh). FACE is a cancer fund based at the Western General Hospital and part of NHS Lothian Charity. Fiona wanted to improve the environment for patients & visitors to the ward and got an agreement for FACE to fund the work. It was important the money involved was well spent and that the changes were planned out carefully to minimise the impact on patient care. Grosvenor were asked to help and Fiona arranged for Leanne Whyte, from the Capital Planning and Projects Team, to project manage it and work closely with Grosvenor.
The ward has mainly shared bays but also has 3 side rooms which are often occupied by patients at end of life to give them and their family some privacy. The rooms are quite small with high ceilings as it is an old building from the 1800s and in a very old part of the hospital.
Unfortunately, the side rooms are long and narrow and not ideally suited for modern bed sizes. The length of the bed leaves very little space and patients used to find themselves staring at a blank wall.
We decided to give them something pleasant to look at, a “better” experience. End of life patients, or those with infections, are unable to go outside so Grosvenor installed Wall Glamour® showing scenes of sunsets, hills and water on the walls facing the patient.
Behind the beds, Wall Glamour® featuring graphics of hills, designed to co-ordinate with the large scale scenes on the opposite wall, gives the family something calming to look at as well.
There were roller blinds in every room, including the shared bays, covering large sash windows. The blinds were plain white so Grosvenor designed a serene blue graphic to go on the blinds which co-ordinates with the imaging on the back wall. Leanne told us “It looks really lovely and there has been very positive feedback from patients”. To finish off, the magnolia walls were painted Egyptian cotton which matches in nicely with the graphics.
Grosvenor also supplied bed chairs for relatives to stay overnight to replace the existing, uncomfortable hard back chairs.
Leanne feels this has really enhanced the experience for all patients and especially those at their end of life stage.
Leanne told us “We are really happy: the blinds make a huge difference. Every room has something. The Wall Glamour® looks amazing: patients really appreciate the calm scene – nothing too invasive, nothing to offend anyone, just calming heather with a sunset in the background”.
“Grosvenor Interiors were great: really attentive, allowing us to function as a hospital and understanding our needs and how it can change at any minute. They were totally flexible.
Other wards within the department are currently undergoing refurbishment so the staff were very pleased to see investment made in their ward that not only enhances the patient experience, but also improves that of the relatives and visitors too”.
Fiona Taylor confirmed: “This has really made the environment less clinical which has been much appreciated by the patients. Our aim was to make the rooms feel a bit more welcoming and relaxing and the project has achieved this.”