East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has rolled out a new scheme providing guest beds for the family members of patients receiving end of life care. The new fold-out beds were purchased by the hospital’s charity, ELHT&Me, which aims to raise funds for initiatives beyond standard NHS funding, improving the environment and experience for patients.
Family members with a loved one receiving end of life care at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital will now be able to request a guest bed from staff on the ward, allowing them to stay overnight with them. Previously, the Trust has tried to accommodate these requests using the limited number of guest beds on paediatric wards, but this hasn’t always been possible.
The new system will be managed centrally by the Trust’s Estates Team, allowing beds to be promptly delivered to the ward that needs them, cleaned properly and stored away to maximise space in patient areas.
Christine Pearson, Director of Nursing at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The most important thing for us to do is consider what we would want for ourselves, or our loved ones, and implement that as much as possible in to the care we provide.
“It’s about ‘putting the P in personal’. To deliver great care we need to make sure we are compassionate, particularly when a patient is coming to the end of their life. Purchasing these new beds means that staff have access to another resource that can improve patient care and make the experience more comfortable for a patient’s family too.”
The beds are adjustable and can be moved to the same level as a patient bed, which can be particularly comforting for couples who are used to sharing a bed. The Trust also endeavours to place patients receiving end of life care in to side rooms on wards, or allow them to receive care at home, wherever possible, to ensure that they are as comfortable as they can be.
Denise Gee, Fundraising Manager at ELHT&Me, said: “The charity is so pleased to have funded these beds as an initiative to improve both the patient and their loved ones experience. From conception to the end of life we all turn to our NHS and the fold away beds will give a choice to our patients loved ones. This is a great example of how financial donations empower our staff and patients to make suggestions so that we can purchase items that are really needed and beyond standard NHS funding.
“Making a donation to ELHT&Me couldn’t be easier. To find out more and to read about the work that we do, visit www.elht.nhs.uk/charity or email fundraising@elht.nhs.uk.”