Paddington children's ward gets an NGH makeover

The Mayor of Northampton Cllr Gareth Eales and the Mayoress Cllr Terrie Eales open the newly refurbished Paddington children's ward

Half of Paddington children’s ward at Northampton General Hospital has been given a makeover to produce a safer, more modern and efficient environment for patients, parents, carers and staff.

One of the changes has been to install pull down beds in each cubicle for use by parents staying overnight with their children. The ten beds, each costing £2,754, were made specifically to fit each of the ten cubicles and were provided through the support of the hospital’s charity, Northamptonshire Healthcare Charitable Fund (NHCF).

NHCF coordinator Alison McCulloch said: “The pull down beds enable parents to get some rest while their child is in hospital without using up lots of space in the room as the bed is stored in the wall. We’re also saving valuable space by no longer needing to store ten foldaway beds on the ward.

“We are extremely grateful for the money to buy the beds which was provided by three different donors. The Friends of NGH donated £4,000, David Goldman raised over £7,000 at his 50^th birthday golf day celebrations, and £16,086 was very generously donated by the Hannah Payne Memorial Trust. Our supporters really do help to make a difference to enhance patient care and help provide above and beyond what the NHS can provide”.

Assistant directorate manager Charlotte Boyce said: “The refurbishment also involved many other elements. For example, upgrading the windows of the rooms with blinds within the panes may seem a simple change, but by doing this dust will not be able to settle on the blinds. Another simple thing like putting wall protectors on the walls will prevent walls being damaged. New lighting in the rooms includes small spot lights that can be used by the nurses in the evening, avoiding the need to turn on the main light and disturb a child unnecessarily.

“Also, reconfiguring the nurses station has created a better and less cluttered working environment for staff. In an environment where we have such a limited amount of space and storage, being creative with the space we have is so important.”

The work also included a new nurse call system, new fire alarm system, redecoration of all the cubicles - and the new layout created one new cubicle to provide ten where there were only nine previously.

The refurbishment took place in the part of the ward comprising individual patient cubicles and the high dependency unit where the most poorly children are cared for. The second half of Paddington ward, consisting of the ward bays, is scheduled to be refurbished in late spring of 2018.