1 April 2008
St Helier Hospital is being given a £450,000 facelift in a bid to spruce up key areas of the 16 acre site. Last summer, a team of six decorators started an external painting programme which saw the main entrance, front and sides of the 1930s site getting a complete make over. This included repairing damaged stone work, rendering and painting.
As part of stage two of the programme, similar work is about to finish on the exterior walls at the Queen Mary's Hospital for Children - behind the main hospital site.
Chris Bell, Associate Director of Corporate Infrastructure, said: "Parts of the outside walls of St Helier Hospital have not been decorated for many years and desperately needed attention. The team working on the project have made a huge improvement to the overall look and feel of the hospital. This is vital if you are a new patient about to enter unfamiliar surroundings."
Elsewhere on the Wrythe Lane site, new flooring has been laid on nearly 600 square metres of 'link' corridors, replacing the old vinyl previously there. The corridors join the main hospital building with adjacent departments including women's health, the Queen Mary' s Hospital for Children and the renal unit. "The new flooring is very high quality and has made the corridors look a lot brighter," Chris added.
In addition, the Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) department has had £300,000 invested to improve its surroundings. The clinic, which delivers sexual health services to local people, has seen new changes in the design of the clinic as well as improvements to the flooring and patient waiting areas.
Furthermore, joint work with the Trust's catering contractor Aramark is now underway that will see the hospital's restaurant getting a complete overhaul. This will include improved serving areas as well as new tables, chairs and lighting. It will mean patients and staff have even more pleasant surroundings to purchase their food and relax.
Chris continued: "Patients rightfully expect first class services to be delivered in pleasant surroundings. These new projects are improving the environment for patients, visitors and staff, and assist with the delivery of our services."
