Case Study

Refurbishment of Davidson Ward, Kings College Hospital

“Every room has a new reclining chair with high comfort padded upholstery and broad padded arms”

The brief

The key driver for this refurbishment project was to improve patient and staff experience. Patients typically spend around 4 weeks in a small room on the ward, undergoing treatment for Leukaemia, and can become very unwell.

The physical and emotional support of partners, close relatives, or friends can have a big impact on treatment effectiveness and recovery times, before the refurbishment there was no provision for someone to accompany the patient for an overnight stay.

As patients were staying for an extended period of time they brought with them a significant amount of personal belongings, with only a traditional bedside locker providing storage, suitcases, and other articles were often spread around the room. Another important aspect of a patient’s recovery is encouraging them to get up and out of bed and into a chair. Feedback from patients indicated they did not want to spend longer than they had to in the existing chair due to the lack of comfort and support. With the existing recliners the upholstery was firm and the arms narrow, the recliners were manual and patients were usually too unwell to recline themselves without assistance.

The patients’ and relatives’ day room on the ward is an important location where family and friends could meet up allowing patients a brief escape from treatment, however, the existing seating was old and in need of a refresh to give patients a space to relax outwith clinical areas.

The outcome

Two of the larger rooms had our Sofia sleeper chairs introduced to allow partners and relatives to sleep whilst staying overnight with the patient. Every room had a new reclining chair introduced, with high comfort padded upholstery, broad padded arms, electrical controls, and easy access to a zero-gravity relax position, as well as large lockable wheels allowing for patient transport. The Boston and Denver recliners are designed for optimal patient comfort, they can also be used by relatives to rest whilst staying for an extended period.

Next was improving patient storage; a brand new mobile storage unit solution was designed and manufactured by Ocura in collaboration with the ward team as well as patient and relative representatives. This lockable unit provided two locations for storing a patient’s cabin-sized airline case, lockable hanging space for clothes with double-sided access, two adjustable shelves, a fold-down flap as an additional surface, a charging point for mobile devices, a power socket and a cubby hole accessible from both sides of the unit for patients to store belongings they could easily access whilst lying in bed.

Lastly, Tulsa was selected for the day room, in a vibrant two-tone colorway with wipeable anti-microbial upholstery, and matching coffee tables.

The end result is a welcoming and supportive environment that is sure to enhance patient recovery and staff well-being.