Young cancer patients benefiting from treatment room artwork
Young adult cancer areas at the Royal Derby Hospital have been decorated with hand-painted murals to help young patients feel more at ease when coming in for treatment.
A beach and a mountain range are just some of the different landscapes that have been painted onto the walls in a bid to improve the hospital experience of young adults receiving cancer care.
Different rooms in the hospital’s Combined Day Unit and Ward 301 have been decorated by Teenage Cancer Trust with the calming backdrops, with young patients choosing the designs they wanted to be included.
Matron for Cancer Services Beth Ratcliffe said: “We’re very grateful to Teenage Cancer Trust for the work they’ve done to enhance the hospital experience of our younger patients. Coming into hospital for cancer treatment can be a scary experience, especially for younger people, so it’s so important that we find different ways to help our patients to feel as comfortable as possible. The murals look fantastic and have done a great job putting patients at ease by making our Teenage and Young Adult cancer areas look less clinical.”
Teenage Cancer Trust have also previously provided the Royal Derby Hospital with iPads, TVs and games consoles to help improve the hospital experience of young adults undergoing cancer treatment.
Patient Adam Rawlings, 25, said: “This has been my first ever real experience of being in hospital, so it’s great that there are areas like this to help you to relax and have some personal time. The artwork all looks great and I almost felt a sense of guilt when I first saw it that it had been created for people like me. The decorations are really calming and make you almost forget that you’re in hospital.”