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Building better, together

Building better, together

We’re using the feedback from our patients, carers and staff to help build better together at our new wards.

We believe that the people who use our services – our Experts by Experience - have the best ideas about how to make them better.

We hold fortnightly virtual ‘Building Together’ focus group meetings to share ideas and gather feedback from patients who have stayed on an acute inpatient ward, their carers, our staff and representatives from the Trust’s governors.

Thanks to the comments received from our ten Experts by Experience working on the project, we will look at opportunities to include the suggestions they raised into the final designs for our new wards at Peter Hodgkinson Centre and Norton Lea.

These include:

  • access to a quiet room/sensory area for patients who require peace and tranquillity
  • surrounding the entrance to the site with a garden featuring aromatic plants and seating
  • carefully considering the location of the family rooms in a quieter area, away from the ward with outdoor seating for family and patient visits
  • maximising the use of natural daylight to create a therapeutic environment and to reduce building lighting costs 
  • using materials to minimise noise travelling around the building which can be distracting to patients and their recovery
  • installing underfloor heating and air conditioning to  create a comfortable environment
  • providing flexible workstations in the treatment rooms including a desk and IT equipment to make it easier for staff to access patient records held online
  • building outdoor courtyards to create a calm and relaxed atmosphere to support their recovery.

It’s not just the design and layout of the wards where feedback has been instrumental to make improvements. The proposed colour scheme for the wards, bedding and other soft furnishings will also be reviewed by the Building Together focus groups to create a modern, relaxed feeling to the wards.

Patients, carers and staff are always welcome to join the Trust’s ‘Building Together’ focus groups to share their experience to improve our services and other opportunities to be involved, please email lpft.involvement@nhs.net or call the Engagement Team on 01529 222245.