BUILDING work has begun to provide new play and sensory spaces for young people at Warwick Hospital.
The brand new areas are geared at promoting positive mental health among young patients and will include an adolescent recreational space and a specialist sensory room.
These enhancements were prompted by an increase in youngsters being admitted to the ward with mental health complications since the onset of the pandemic.
The new facilities will aid staff in caring for these young patients, ensuring their needs are covered, and providing places of respite away from the busy clinical area.
Vikki Harrison, MacGregor Ward Manager, said: “Supporting the mental wellbeing of children and young people is crucial in aiding recovery. Providing distractions and an area to use away from the bedspace is a key part of providing high quality, holistic care to the children and young people of South Warwickshire who require our inpatient services.”
The development is being supported by a £350,000 fundraising appeal driven by the official charity of South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust.
SWFT Charity’s Young Minds Matter Appeal has been running since March, with over £130,000 raised so far towards the project.
A spokesperson from SWFT Charity said: “The response to the appeal so far has been incredible. We have seen so much fantastic community support, for which we are incredibly grateful. The chances are that nearly all of us know children and young people who have, at some point, needed the care of MacGregor Ward, so the project seems to have really touched the heart of our community.”
To learn more about the fundraising appeal and to donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/SWFTCharityYoungMindsMatter
