Wards at Walsall Manor Hospital are re-opening after a major facelift which staff have described as ‘clean, modern, professional and positive’.
Work on four wards on the hospital’s West Wing – Wards 9, 10, 11 and 12 – has now been completed and will improve patients’ experience.
The refurbishments, which are on time and have taken 16 weeks, have been carried out by main contractors William Gough Limited under the direction of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.
Improvements include new flooring, lighting, nurse bases and communications rooms.
Ned Hobbs, Walsall Healthcare’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Lead for Estates, said: “We have now completed the first four West Wing wards in our refurbishment programme and you can see the impact of this vital work. Following on from this first phase, we are also aiming to commence refurbishment of West Wing medical wards in the spring. These improvements have made for a much better environment for our patients, and for our staff.
“Some of the new additions – such as the yellow toilet doors which are helpful to patients living with dementia – are also very welcome. Staff have told us there has already been positive feedback from patients and this investment has also made a real difference to their working environment.
“I would like to thank our Estates teams and the William Gough team for their excellent work. I would also like to thank those services and staff who have temporarily re-located during the course of the refurbishments, and our clinical teams that have actively contributed to the design and development of the new ward environments. The work has been completed on time, and now releases Ward 9 and Ward 14 back as additional inpatient capacity ready for Winter.”
Senior Sister on Ward 10 Jackie Baraket is delighted with the work. She said: “It’s lifted staff morale. It’s made the place feel much more professional and makes you feel more professional too. It’s very modern and fresh.
“It’s a much more positive environment for staff and patients – and the patients deserve it. Everyone has mentioned it and lots of people are coming in to have a peek around and they’re all really impressed with it.
“The contractors have been really helpful too. Every time we have spoken to them about problems they have dealt with them. They’re really approachable and helpful. It can be difficult working around patients but they have been very professional.”
Ward 9 Sister Michelle Pritchard added: “It’s really boosted staff morale. We’re all really impressed and everyone has said how good the wards look.”
Interim Head of Estates at Walsall Healthcare Trust Stuart Cornaby said: “There were quite a few challenges around the infrastructure and services which we had to overcome with the help of Skanska. But with collaborative working to understand the systems, this greatly assisted in the refurbishment being completed on time.
“Working on the first two wards took nine to 10 weeks as we were finding our feet, but the second two took six to seven because we knew what the potential problems were. We’re very pleased with the results.”