Ceiling lights bring a little sunshine to Postbridge
Whatever the Plymouth weather is doing outside, there’s now a patch of clear sky over patients on Postbridge.
New illuminated ceiling panels, funded by Plymouth Hospitals Charity, are helping transform the environment in the Postbridge Admissions and Day care Recovery Unit on Level 4 at Derriford Hospital.
The unit has no windows or natural daylight and Senior Sister Julie Overnell admits that parts of the recovery area could previously feel very clinical. “It is a box , it’s just a box,” she says. “There are absolutely no windows down there and there are no TVs, so I wanted to try and make the area a little bit better for patients.”
When the recovery area was originally developed, it was expected to be used mainly by day-case patients who would spend just a few hours recovering from an anaesthetic before going home, as well as some patients staying overnight. But the way the unit is used has changed, with some patients now spending considerably longer there and others transferring to Postbridge from wards elsewhere in the hospital. That made creating a more welcoming and restful environment increasingly important.
The team had already introduced pictures to brighten the walls, and Julie had seen the difference similar illuminated ceiling panels made in the admissions area. With support from Plymouth Hospitals Charity, they have now been installed in the recovery bays too.
And the choice of image was very deliberate. “We did the sky ones on purpose so that it looks a bit like a spring day,” Julie explains.
For staff working long shifts without natural daylight, they make a difference too. Julie jokes that on a wet and miserable winter's day, the team can spend their shift underneath blue skies, only discovering what the weather is really doing when they eventually step outside.
Most importantly, patients have noticed the change. “The patients have certainly responded positively,” says Julie. “Some patients come down from wards and sometimes they’ve been there for weeks. They say it’s a better ambience.”
For Julie, it is about bringing a little of the outside world into an environment which, by necessity, can otherwise feel very clinical. “You need some natural light if possible, or something that brings you into a world of normality rather than just a recovery area. It’s not the most restful place, so this makes it feel a little bit less clinical.”
It’s a relatively simple change, but one that illustrates the difference charitable funding can make. Alongside major investments in equipment, research and innovation, donations to Plymouth Hospitals Charity can also fund those additional touches that NHS funding may not stretch to; improvements which can make the hospital experience better for patients and the people caring for them.
And on Postbridge, that means there’s now always a little bit of blue sky overhead!
If you’d like to help support more projects like this, there are lots of ways you can get involved and help make a difference at your hospital.