How tables and chairs have transformed the experience for Preston cancer patients

Patients waiting for radiotherapy treatment at Rosemere Cancer Centre or for a lift home post appointment can now do so in much greater comfort after charity Rosemere Cancer Foundation spent £51,446 on new tables and chairs for the department’s waiting area.

The request for the new furniture was made by team lead radiographer Daniel Humphray in response to patient feedback. Of patients completing feedback forms, more than one in five had complaints about the old furniture.

Daniel said: “Up to 200 patients a day receive radiotherapy treatment at Rosemere Cancer Centre. Of these, many wait for extended periods, especially those relying on patient transport to bring them in for and take them home from their appointments. The previous waiting room furniture was worn, mismatched and no longer fit for purpose. Some of the chairs were too low and had no armrests, causing difficulty for patients, particularly older and frail patients, to stand up safely.”

Daniel continued: “Several tables were damaged with varnish peeling and surfaces appearing dirty despite regular cleaning. This negatively affected patient experience, not just in terms of their physical comfort but also, their mental wellbeing as unsuitable chairs and scruffy looking tables made relaxing more difficult, adding to patient stress and anxiety.”

Since the new furniture’s arrival, 100% of patients able to compare the new tables and chairs with the old have rated the new as much better or better than before with 100% also describing the furniture as either very comfortable or comfortable.

When asked about anxiety or stress, 85% of patients felt the newly refurbished waiting room environment contributed to a reduction of their anxiety or stress with 24% answering it had helped a great deal, 45% quite a lot and 15% a little.

Daniel added: “Our aim was to improve patient experience and we have achieved this. We have received some really positive responses. We give feedback forms to patients nearing the end of their treatment and of those who returned them, half wrote the word ‘comfortable’ when asked to use their own words to now describe the waiting area and new furniture. The old furniture hasn’t gone to waste though. It has been repurposed and reused in other areas of the hospital.”

Sue Swire, fundraising manager for Rosemere Cancer Foundation, said: “We are delighted to have been able to help Daniel and his team turn around patients’ experience of the Radiotherapy Department waiting area, which as it extends to the Rosemere Coffee Shop is also used by chemotherapy and other cancer centre outpatients.

“The relatively simple fix of new, more appropriately designed furniture has had a big impact on patients’ physical and mental wellbeing, improving their overall experience of their radiotherapy treatment.”

Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated not just at Rosemere Cancer Centre, which is Lancashire and South Cumbria’s regional specialist cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, but also at another eight local hospital cancer units across the two counties.

The charity funds the latest in cutting-edge equipment, clinical research, staff training and innovative services and initiatives like this one, which the NHS cannot afford, in order to make patients’ cancer journey more effective, comfortable and stress-free. For further information and to donate, visit