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Thursday 5 May 2022

A new relatives’ room where the families and loved-ones of patients who are nearing the end of their lives can take a break from the ward environment has opened at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

The new Peony room, which opened as part of dying matters awareness week, provides a quiet and calm space for relatives and loved-ones to take a break away from the busy ward environment, rest, reflect and have some refreshments.

The Peony room development is part of a wider initiative launched by the Palliative and End of life Care team at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, the SUPPORT initiative. The SUPPORT initiative aims to raise awareness of the things hospital staff can do to make the relatives experience a little bit easier, from providing comfort care packs to providing dedicated spaces for relatives.

On the opening of the Peony room, Avril Adams, Lead Nurse Specialist Palliative and End of Life Care team said: “We are delighted to be able to introduce the new Peony room for the relatives of some of our seriously ill patients.

“Death and dying is very difficult to deal with, but helping patients and those people important to them at their time of greatest need is hugely important to us. Providing these new facilities demonstrates our dedication to supporting our patients and the people most important to them at one of the most distressing of times.

”Our patients often worry about how their loved ones are coping even when they are receiving treatment, the new facilities will help bring great comfort to our patients that we are providing holistic care for people most important to them too.”

The concept of the Peony room came following feedback from trust voices of bereavement surveys, where feedback highlighted there was a lack of space for relatives to go to have some time for themselves. There are already plans underway to transform space at the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch to offer the same support as the Peony room.

Matthew Hopkins, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust added: “Patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do here at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

“This is yet another fantastic example of ways our staff focus on offering the best possible care to our patients and their loved ones.

“Our teams continually look at ways in which our services can be improved that meets the needs of the people of Worcestershire.”

The new Peony room has opened thanks to support from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Charity, the dedicated charity of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. The team helped to furnish the room and provide the all important refreshments for relatives and loved-ones.

Sophie Burt, Head of Fundraising and Community Development for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals charity added: “Our charity is committed to providing those added extras that improve the experience for everyone using or providing services.

“We are thrilled that we are able to support such a fantastic project, which not only focuses on putting patients first but also helps to improve the experience of the people most important to them.

“We would like to thank all of our supporters for their donations, of both money and items, for these projects that make a real difference to our patients.”

More information on how to support the end of life care fund can be found at: https://wahcharity.org/the-end-of-life-care-fund