St Ann’s Hospice staff members get a glimpse of new build furnishings
Some members of staff visited Shackletons Contract Furniture for Care Homes & Senior Living in Dewsbury who are creating some of the furnishings for the St Ann's Hospice new build
St Ann's Hospice staff members receiving a tour around the Shackletons factory
Staff from St Ann’s embarked on a trip to evaluate suggested furnishings and fabric textures for the new hospice building in Heald Green.
Members of staff who attended were from various teams across the hospice including clinical, rehab, maintenance, and the Being You Centre. They attended a site visit at Shackletons Contract Furniture for Care Homes & Senior Living in Dewsbury.
It is important that staff from various sectors across the hospice have a chance to test and evaluate any suggested furnishings to ensure they will be of the best benefit for patients and family.
Being You Centre nurse, Doreen O’Hara attended the site visit and was impressed by what she saw.
“It was really fabulous. It was beneficial to get a taste of the potential furnishings on offer, and to have a factory tour, so we could get a better idea of what we are looking for,” Doreen said.
I, and other staff members were able to take patient comfort into account when assessing the furnishings. It’s not just off the shelf stuff that we are buying, most if not all furnishings will be custom made, to ensure the best fit for patients and families in the new hospice
“So, seeing the process of it being made was really good. We were also able to understand other aspects such as fire safety and infection control of the furnishings on offer, so it adds another layer of health and safety,” she added.
The interior design of the new hospice is being spearheaded by AXI Studio. Founder and creative director, Sarah de Freitas was there on the day to show furnishings and textures her and her team had picked out which was beneficial according to Doreen.
“She had pinpointed out some wonderful furnishings, but it was also known that we were allowed to add our input. We ended up making a couple of changes on the day,” Doreen said.
“I work for the Being You Centre, and we often have patients coming in, in group settings and for other reasons. It’s important that we get them the right comfortable seating as they are often seated for two or three hours. We spotted a chair in the background that suited this purpose and were able to make a change.”
According to Doreen, it is incredibly important to create the right environment for patients in the new hospice.
“They need a space where they can relax, they need a very open, clean space. Because we often work in a group setting, we need a nice, big, open space. Comfort is key. We looked at making sure there is enough space in each area as you don’t want people invading your personal space, and it needs to look nice because it is new and exciting, and it’s lovely for our patients,” Doreen added.