13 April 2011
Patients, carers and staff were the design force
behind a state-of-the-art cancer day unit officially opened
today by David Dimbleby at Guy's Hospital.
The unit, funded by a £3.9m grant from Guy's and St Thomas'
Charity, has been built to the standards of leading cancer
treatment centres internationally and will benefit more than 15,000
day patients treated by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
each year.
The Dimbleby family are long term supporters of cancer services
at Guy's and St Thomas', where the Richard Dimbleby Cancer
Information and Support Service, in memory of David Dimbleby's late
father, is based.
Architects worked closely with patients, carers and staff to
ensure all aspects of the patient experience were incorporated into
the design, with patient feedback considered in everything from the
layout of the unit and the way care is planned, to the
state-of-the-art equipment and the specially commissioned
artwork.
Anna Torode, one of the patients who contributed to the design
of the unit, said: "I am delighted that patients have been able to
contribute so significantly to the design of this wonderful new
unit. I particularly value the colour schemes and the artwork which
together give a calming and uplifting environment. The staff and
services provided here at the unit all have the patients at
heart."
Based on their input, patients will benefit from features
including:
- an assessment unit, offering an alternative to A&E for
chemotherapy patients who become ill after treatment
- greater privacy, with no more than four patients in a group,
and patients also have access to treatment in private rooms
- patients treated alongside others with similar diagnoses so
they can share experiences and benefit from extended support
networks
- the comfort of a coffee lounge and internet access during
treatment
- a free, on-site support service, HeadStrong run in partnership
with Breast Cancer Care
- multi-purpose consultation rooms to reduce the need for
patients to go to other areas of the hospital for
treatment
- an integrated pharmacy service to reduce waiting times and
increase convenience
Peter Hewitt, Chief Executive at Guy's and St Thomas' Charity,
said: "We are proud to support facilities and services that embody
such innovative design and will enable clinical staff to provide
the very best cancer services for patients across South East London
and beyond."
Professor Arnie Purushotham, Director of King's Health Partner's
Integrated Cancer Centre, said: "We are absolutely delighted with
these new facilities as there is growing evidence to show the
benefit for patients when they receive their treatment in a calm
and well designed patient focussed environment."
The cancer day unit is a key early milestone in the development
of a major Cancer Treatment Centre at Guy's by King's Health
Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre
has made cancer a key priority and an area where we will build our
capacity, bringing together exceptional clinical care, leading edge
research and teaching for the benefit of patients locally and from
further afield.
Heather Barnett and Will Holloway who designed the artwork for
the unit said: "The artworks created for the new cancer unit were
all inspired in some way by the patients we came into contact with
during the creative consultation. We hope the resulting artworks
reflect the multitude of emotional responses and human resilience
to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and will provide a
positive distraction to new patients as they undergo
treatment."
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Note to editors:
- Contact: Michele Harris, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation
Trust tel: 020 7188 5577 or email: michele.harris@gstt.nhs.uk Out
of hours, please call our pager bureau on 0844 822 2888, ask for
pager number 847704 and give the pager operator your message.
- Photos of David Dimbleby at the official opening event are
available from the Communications Department on 020 7188 1557
- Guy's and St Thomas' provides around 900,000 patient contacts
in acute and specialist hospital services every year. As one of the
biggest NHS Trusts in the UK, it employs almost 11,000 staff. The
Trust works in partnership with the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry,
Nursing and Biomedical Sciences of King's College London and other
Higher Education Institutes to deliver high quality education and
research. Website: www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk
- Guy's and St Thomas' is part of King's Health Partners Academic
Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between
King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College
Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts. The
Integrated Cancer Centre brings together the cancer services and
research within our AHSC. King's Health Partners is one of only
five AHSCs in the UK and brings together an unrivalled range and
depth of clinical and research expertise, spanning both physical
and mental health. Our combined strengths will drive improvements
in care for patients, allowing them to benefit from breakthroughs
in medical science and receive leading edge treatment at the
earliest possible opportunity. Website
www.kingshealthpartners.org
- Guy's and St Thomas' Charity supports front line healthcare
improvement, so as to deliver world class health services for the
users of Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals, King's Health Partners and
across Lambeth and Southwark. Special focus is given to
transformation of cancer and diabetes services; innovation in
public health including health and wellbeing; and structural and
system wide change. As a catalyst for change the Charity seeks
lasting benefits in all that it does supporting excellence in
service transformation; research; education and training; estates
and equipment; and the arts and heritage that underpin these.
Website: www.gsttcharity.org.uk
- Building work was carried out by Hutton Construction Limited
and Greenhill Jenner Architects