Kingston Hospital Charity (KHC) is fundraising for its Tranquil Spaces project to convert underused rooms to help end-of-life and dementia patients.
The initiative seeks to renovate Kingston Hospital spaces into private areas in which patients and their loved ones can relax in less clinical surroundings.
Lightboxes projecting images of nature and wildlife will be installed on the ceilings for patients to look up to during difficult times.
Tracy Shaw, fundraising manger, said: “We aim to make personal spaces for patients, so hopefully, during end-of-life care, those last moments are better than they could be.
“Families who wish to visit their loved ones prefer private rooms as opposed to the busy public wards with people coming in and out.”
Each room costs £3,100 and will be renovated with softer lighting, artwork, comfortable furniture, digital radios, and curtains instead of stock hospital blinds.
Every Child, Every Day Academy Trust, a local school group, has teamed up with the charity to raise money for this project to make a tangible impact. The trust consists of three schools – Grey Court School, The Hollyfield School and Chessington School.
Sasha Braham, a teacher at Grey Court, and initiator of this partnership, explained the importance of educating children about dementia.
She said: “The implications of this condition are wide and can be devastating, not just for the person with this diagnosis but their family and community.
“Research shows that there are more than 850,000 people in the United Kingdom who have dementia – that is approximately one in 14 people over the age of 65.
“To put this into context, this equates to 17 students in each year group of our school who will be affected by dementia at some point in their life.”
New Malden Rotary, Coombe Hill Manor residential home, and other community groups are also among those who have contributed to the fundraiser.
Nichola Kane, chief nurse, added: “The impact of these changes can be significant in improving experiences for some of our most vulnerable patients.”
Featured image credit: Kingston Hospital Charity
