Baby Beat helps refurbed unit to new look and feel
Wall art and new furniture costing £15,242.20 has been bought for the Royal Preston Hospital’s newly refurbished Gynaecology and Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit by mums and babies charity Baby Beat.
The unit’s new purpose-built scan suite, new walk-in assessment area and its new waiting room along with two treatment rooms and a corridor have been decorated with calming murals and given comfier seating to make for a less clinical feeling environment. It is hoped this will help reduce anxiety among patients and their partners.
The hospital’s Matron for Gynaecology Services, David Styles, explained: “There is a need to make the unit a calm, less clinically feeling space. It is attended by approximately 8,000 patients a year, most of which are early pregnancy patients.
“Many of these come with their partners because they have an early pregnancy emergency and are potentially experiencing or about to be told they have lost their baby. We see approximately seven losses diagnosed each day.”
David added: “The new walk-in assessment area, for which Baby Beat has bought three recliner chairs, is for patients on infusions such as hyperemesis patients – patients with severe pregnancy sickness. They could be in the assessment area all day so comfort has to again be a priority.”
Baby Beat’s fundraising manager Joanna Allitt said: “We are proud to fund the wall art, recliners and new waiting room seating for the refurbished unit. Anything that can be done to make being there that little bit better for patients and their partners is a big thing and something we know is very important to David and all of the unit’s staff.”
David and his staff team came up with the design ideas for the wall art, which was then produced by LustaLux, Preston.
Baby Beat is part of the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity family. It funds specialist equipment, patient services and comforts, clinical care, local research, additional training and staff welfare projects so that the maternity and gynaecology teams can offer the best possible outcomes for babies and mums in the Central Lancashire and Chorley area.
With Baby Beat’s support, NICU continues to provide exceptional care for premature and sick babies and their families from across Lancashire and South Cumbria. For further information on Baby Beat’s work and how to support, visit www.babybeat.org.uk