Patients, staff and visitors at Walsall Manor Hospital can take a seat and take a break thanks to a charity makeover.

The seating area at the top of the escalators was in a poor state of repair with torn seats and worn tables. It is well used by patients, families and staff who sit and eat meals, spend time with loved ones away from the wards, or pull up a chair to read and relax with a cuppa.

Walsall Healthcare NHS Fundraising Manager Georgie Westley said: “We thought the area really needed to be spruced up and as our Well Wishers charity aims to buy items above and beyond what the NHS provides we thought this was a worthy project.

“We have bought new chairs and tables and have brightened up the area and we were able to do so thanks to all the donations that have been made via our Purple Hub in the outpatients corridor. We sell books, jigsaws and knitted items every day and used £3,000 of this for the café makeover.

“It looks so much more welcoming and we’re happy to enhance our patients’ experience in this way. It is also a good way of spreading the word about our charity, raising its profile.”

Jayne Devey and her 12-year-old granddaughter Lillie Carpenter have given the area the thumbs up.

“Jayne said: “It’s a comfortable, relaxing place to sit – well done to the charity for making it so.”