Shropshire Star

More than 20 privacy rooms for end of life patients created at Shropshire hospitals

More than 20 rooms which provide privacy and dignity for patients at the end of life have been created at the county's major hospitals.

Published

The latest Swan Room has opened on Ward 7 (Short Stay Medical) at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford.

It brings the total number of Swan Rooms at both the PRH and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) to 22.

The Swan Rooms build on the work being done by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the two hospitals, to improve end of life and bereavement care.

The rooms allow relatives to spend time with their loved one, who is at end of life, in a more private, peaceful and calming environment. The rooms have been funded by donations to the trust’s end of life care Swan Fund.

Jules Lewis, end of life care facilitator at SaTH, said: “Helping patients and their families at their time of greatest need is hugely important to us. It is a privilege to care for people at end of life and support their relatives and friends at the hardest of times; we only have one chance to get it right.

“That is why these Swan Rooms are so important, as they allow families to spend valuable time with their loved ones in surroundings that are peaceful and private.”

Debbie Snooke, End of Life Care Specialist Nurse at SaTH, officially opened the new Swan Room on Ward 7. She said: “We would like to thank our colleagues on Ward 7 and the Estates team, including Nigel Breese, for all their hard work in helping us to make this happen.”

Plans are in place to create a 23rd Swan Room at RSH in the near future.