Room refurbishments ensure more comfort for patients

The first stage of a major project to transform in-patient bedrooms at Barnsley Hospice has been completed.

Work to refurbish all ten in-patient bedrooms began in October and the first two are now ready. The rest will be completed by spring 2019, with work taking place over four phases to allow in-patient unit services to continue.

The two refurbished bedrooms have specialist beds to improve patient comfort, furniture and décor to create a peaceful and homely environment, and new doors and windows with integral blinds that will create a much lighter and brighter environment.

Both rooms also have new en-suite wet rooms, air conditioning and new flooring. Each room has piped oxygen and mood lighting along with large-screen smart televisions, and wireless headphones to enhance the patient experience.

The main in-patient unit bathroom will be upgraded alongside the rest of the bedrooms over the coming months. There will be a designated overnight stay facility that will be available for family members to use as and when needed.

The two newly refurbished bedrooms were officially ‘opened’ this week by representatives from the Morrisons Foundation, who provided a £300,000 grant towards the project. Grants from charitable trusts and donations from the Barnsley community were added to the funding.

The refurbishment project will cost around £500,000 in total. The remaining funding was raised through the hospice ‘Comfort and Care Campaign’, which was launched last November.

Bev Hewitt, in-patient unit manager at Barnsley Hospice, said: “It’s really important to us that we make every patient as comfortable as possible, so it’s wonderful that these first bedrooms are now ready. We’re so grateful to everyone in Barnsley who has helped make these improvements possible through their generous fundraising and support for our charity.”

David Scott, head of corporate affairs at Morrisons and trustee of the Morrisons Foundation, said: “It’s wonderful to hear about the difference these room improvements will make to the patients staying at the hospice. We’re proud that the Foundation has been able to provide funding for such a worthwhile project and we’re looking forward to seeing the fully finished transformation in the spring.”

This is the first time the bedrooms have been fully refurbished since the in-patient unit opened in 2001. Barnsley-based building contractors CD Potter and Sons were appointed to carry out the work.

Photo shows L-R: Sam Burden and David Scott of the Morrisons Foundation, Jan Walker, Bev Hewitt, Ian Muffett and Janet O’Hara of Barnsley Hospice.

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