At the heart of it all: Specialist cardiology ward transformed following £757,000 investment | News

The dedicated cardiology and respiratory ward (C6) at St Helier Hospital has re-opened following extensive refurbishment and improvement works that cost £757,000 and took four months to complete.

The project, which was funded as part of the £18million set aside to purchase state-of-the-art equipment and improve the buildings at Epsom and St Helier hospitals this year, has seen the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and the main ward area of C6 transformed into a bright and welcoming environment that boasts top class facilities and a range of new equipment. Trevor Fitzgerald, Director of Estates, Facilities and Capital Projects, said: “After several months of hard work, I am delighted that Ward C6 has fully re-opened and that our patients are already benefitting from all of the improvements we have made.

“We are extremely proud of what has been achieved with the refurbishment, especially the Coronary Care Unit, which has been extended and given a top-to-toe overhaul, including a brand new four-bed bay. The refurbishment also gave us the opportunity to invest £85,000 in a new state-of-the-art patient monitoring system throughout the unit, and to build a new monitoring station for nurses, all of which will help make sure that we continue to deliver the best possible care to our patients.”

Improvements have also been made to the more general area of the ward, including the creation of a new single room with en suite bathroom, a brand new reception area where visitors to the ward are greeted, and a new family room. “As with all of our improvement projects, we have carefully considered what our patients, and their friends and relatives, need to make sure that their experience is as positive as possible. The new family room provides a quiet environment for people who might need some space or who would like to have a private conversation away from the main ward areas.

“Working closely with our Older Persons’ Assessment and Liaison Service (OPALS) team, we have incorporated a number of things to provide additional support to our patients with dementia, including the use of dementia friendly, natural colours , which have been shown to have a calming effect and help signpost patients to their bed space.

“We have also chosen a floor covering which is non-shiny, as we know that shiny floors can look wet to people living with dementia. Along with our new day and night lighting system, which features dimmable lighting to reduce disruption to patients when they are trying to rest, all of these improvements mean we have been able to create a warm, friendly environment that will help us keep our patients as comfortable as possible.”

Staff working on the ward are also benefitting from a number of improvements made as part of the project. Tanya Fuller, Matron for Specialty Medicine at St Helier Hospital, explained: “The refurbishment has also had a big impact for staff behind the scenes – not only is our working environment brighter and more spacious, we now have a brand new clinical room (where medical equipment and medications will be kept) and a larger sluice room (where items such as bed pans and other reusable products are cleaned and disinfected), which will make carrying out some tasks that bit easier. We are also really pleased with our new team room, which allows for better working across our different clinical teams.

“I know that the team, including myself, are thrilled with the results of the refurbishment. We all pride ourselves on putting the patient first, and are extremely grateful to everyone who has worked so hard to create this fantastic environment for our patients.”

Other improvements made as part of the refurbishment include:

• Increased number of wash basins
• Improved accessibility around the ward
• Improved signage, including painting all patient/visitor support areas, such as nurses’ bay and the ward reception, the same colour to help signpost people
• A new kitchen.