Thousands of pounds of wall art has helped to make Walsall’s Midwifery-Led Unit (MLU) a welcoming haven for families as part of a package of charity-funded finishing touches.
Walsall Healthcare’s Well Wishers charity has spent just under £7,000 on the colourful designs for the unit’s birthing rooms as well as kitting out the parents’ kitchen with a microwave, kettle, cups, plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery.
The MLU, which re-opened last month, was previously a standalone centre but it was relocated into Walsall Manor Hospital after feedback shared with Walsall’s Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP), as well as via a survey in partnership with the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB), showed that families would prefer an onsite centre.
Moving the MLU next to the hospital’s Maternity Unit means that more birth choices can be offered to a greater number of women. Within the previous unit, only low-risk women – with strict criteria – were able to use the service. These criteria can now be expanded and mean women and babies who may have complications as their labour and birth progress have rapid access to staff who are able to support urgent care.
Georgie Westley, Fundraising Manager at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Our charity gives a lot of support to Maternity Services to help enhance families’ experiences while they are under our care and buy items above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide.
“We’re proud to have been able to fund the wall art in the unit and thanks to Grosvenor Interiors the relaxing images they have supplied do help to create a calming environment. And access to kitchen facilities is important as the unit prides itself on having a homely feel so that nervous parents to be can feel as comfortable and settled as possible.”
Rickell Bailey, MLU Manager, said: “We’ve had some lovely, positive comments from families and really appreciate the charity support we’ve been given on our unit.
Without the Well Wishers charity this would not have been possible.
“The wall art just makes our birthing rooms even more welcoming – we love it! When the lights are low you can actually visualise being in the lake whilst in the birthing pool. And the kitchen items make the environment cosier and as though we are at home.”
The MLU offers:
- One to one care in labour
- Three birth pool rooms with en-suites
- Breastfeeding support
- Parent education
- Reflexology (coming soon)
- Calming atmosphere with LED lighting
- Swift discharge directly from the MLU
- Refreshment area with seating
Well Wishers has also helped to brighten up the Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU) within the Urgent and Emergency Care Centre which opened last year at the Manor Hospital. The charity has worked with teams to brighten up some of the walls and provide distractions for young patients while they’re in the waiting area or in the quiet room that is used for breaking news, sharing test results or to provide a quieter area.
TV star and model mum Danielle Lloyd was impressed with the additions when she had to bring her two-year-old daughter Autumn into the department after the child got part of a felt pom pom stuck up her nose..
She said: “Once we were in the waiting area for the children there was lots to do to keep her occupied like colouring. She interacted with other children, and it was just a friendly atmosphere in the new centre.”