Every Quiet Room needs to literally be a cwtsh, a safe haven. Quiet Rooms provide a peaceful and safe space in which to allow families to connect with huge emotions, express confusion, hurt, fear, tears, and grief and within which to find support and comfort.
The room in General Surgery is already providing a comforting space for those tragically all too frequent and hugely tough conversations that families and patients have with clinicians and their team.
Even more amazing is that staff in General Surgery have set up the space, whilst they also completely moved the whole ward and its patients from C7 to B6, accommodating the ward move (lock, stock, and barrel), while also continuing to look after and do their best for all their patients. As an ‘amber’ ward, the staff team also have many other COVID-19-related restrictions and procedures to implement and related stress to cope with.
What a difference!
In the previous location of General Surgery (C7), the designated Quiet Room space had been used as a don and doff space by staff for PPE use.
Gail and her colleagues were desperate to have a good space in which to spend time with families, provide information, answer questions, and offer comfort.
So, from the locker room pictured above, General Surgery now have a properly designated Quiet Room within which to offer information, advice, support and comfort to families and their loved ones.
Some weeks ago , Gail had contacted us at Daring to Dream saying “We don’t have any dedicated rooms for patients and families at the moment so they can have privacy and feel comfortable in their surroundings.
Having such a space would impact on the patient and the family experience, especially if the medical update being given by clinical team members is very tough and distressing. In our experience, we find that in such a private setting the family and patients are more able to ask questions and better understand the update and prognosis. They tend to feel that they literally ‘have the space’ and the right environment in which to ask more direct questions, feeling more comfortable and able to do so.”
Gail as she sent through these photos continued “For General Surgery to now have a Quiet Room, a cwtsh, is also a real boost to staff morale, as we deal with the impact of the winter COVID-crisis.
As a team we are proud to have this space and much improved environment to benefit our patients and their families. It helps us to know we are moving forwards from COVID, that good things are still happening for our patients.”
When General Surgery is permanently relocated in Spring 2021, as we begin to move beyond the pandemic and its impact, Daring to Dream is committed to providing the new paint and wallpaper for their relocated Quiet Room – cwtsh.