Dandelion Room Provides Comfort & Calm
Having a peaceful, calming space to come to terms with difficult news is incredibly important in a healthcare setting, to give families and friends room to process and reconcile with difficult prognoses and bereavements. Thanks to our principal donor, Edward Cadbury Trust, as well as money raised to enhance the space from the PODUK digital podcast festival and funding from NHS Charities Together and Rhino Steel Cladding Limited, BCHC Charity was able to undertake a complete refurbishment of the bereavement room at Moseley Hall Hospital.
The Charity Team worked closely with Anne Pemberton of the Patient Experience Team and Ruth Denton of the Palliative Care Team to ensure that the newly named Dandelion Room would offer a more inviting and tranquil atmosphere for reflection and meditation. The room has been thoroughly redone, having been painted a more peaceful and relaxing shade of silver, with new flooring, seating and furniture, and a beautiful dandelion mural. Families now have a more private setting to take the time to process prognosis or bereavement, with hot drink facilities and bereavement resources available.
Ruth Denton, Head of Palliative Care, approached the charity to refurbish and redecorate the room. “The ‘bereavement office’ as it was known previously had a range of uses, including as office space and storage of cleaning equipment. Although there was the option to use this as a quiet room for families when it was available, it was very rarely used as the environment was felt to be unsuitable and unwelcoming,” she says. “Having the dedicated use of the refurbished Dandelion Room now means that there is a quiet space where families are able to have conversations with the clinical or spiritual care teams about the care of their loved one at the end of life or where they can have some time together privately away from the busy ward area.”
The Dandelion Room can also be used by staff to decompress after particularly difficult consultations. Lead Matron Katie Butler explains why this is so important: “During a clinician’s shift, many episodes of care can cause emotional strain, whether that’s during times of breaking bad news, caring for end of life patients or even wonderful times like seeing a patient walk for the first time after a stroke. It is highly important for our clinicians have time to break and reflect. During this time the clinician will be able to ‘top up their emotional bank’ and give them the strength to return to the ward to continue their wonderful work with a smile on their faces. The Dandelion Room gives the clinician a wonderful, peaceful place to do this.”
The hope is that following the successful launch of the Moseley Hall Dandelion Room, further bereavement suites can be set up or refurbished across inpatient units throughout BCHC services to provide more private and comfortable environments to aid families, carers and staff in dealing with bereavements. If you would like to make a donation to help support palliative care initiatives such as these bereavement rooms, please visit our End of Life appeal page.