The Friends of St Mary’s Hospital have funded £2,500 of equipment for a new sensory room on Seagrove Ward, a psychiatric intensive care unit which is part of the the Sevenacres facility.
The sensory room is a non-clinical therapeutic environment that provides a calming and interactive space for people when they are feeling at their most vulnerable; emotionally and psychologically.
The room will be used as a de-escalation tool when someone is feeling anxious or overwhelmed, providing them with a calm space to help with relaxation and promote good sleep.
Benefits include a diffuser to fill the air with a selection of relaxing scented oils, a variety of coloured lights and plenty of tactile sensory aids. It has speakers to play nature sounds, relaxing music, and guided meditations.
The room also has a number of steel tongue drums that are easy to play and create soothing sounds. A large bubble tube and blackout blinds complete the space, with the bubble tube serving as an impressive eye-catching centre piece.
Lewis Roberts-O’Brien, therapeutic activity co-ordinator said:
“The Team on Seagrove Ward is very proud of the room and the benefits it will bring to current and future patients. To create the space on an otherwise clinical ward, we spent time with both patients and staff exploring options that would be most beneficial and appropriate.”
Article continues below this advertisement “The patients enjoyed testing the new equipment and deciding on the best layout of the room. This in itself was a therapeutic activity and the start of the benefits the sensory room can offer patients.”
“We are very grateful for this funding which has enabled us to turn our idea into a reality and would like to extend a massive thank you to the Friends of St Mary’s from the whole of Seagrove Ward.”
The funding has been used to buy some portable sensory equipment for the Sevenacres Occupational Therapy Department.
Donna White, Specialist Occupational Therapist at the Memory Service said:
“The room will enhance patient experience by reducing the need for excess medication. Enabling a safe space, away from the noise and distractions of a ward environment, will help to de-escalate emotions, manage anxiety, promote relaxation, and empower people to build resilience and coping strategies that can in incorporated into everyday life.”
“As a team, we were incredibly grateful for the funding and have already seen the room utilised with positive outcomes, enhancing the effectiveness and quality of care that can be offered on admission to the unit.”
Oh wow seen it all now, quote “reducing the need for excess medication” well we all know what that means, “remove the need for ANY medication” cost cutting for the patients and will be closed by the end of the year seeing as it was a funded by a charity.
Do you have the capacity to be positive about anything? Lets hope you never need these services