Our new reception, lounge and café area is now open!

January 16, 2023

We are delighted that our newly refurbished reception, lounge and café area is open, providing a welcoming and comfortable space for all to enjoy.

Café area

Our café area is a welcoming space for patients, families, visitors, volunteers and staff. There are a range of hot and cold drinks available as well as a variety of food including sandwiches, salads and of course some sweet treats too!

We have also launched a loyalty card – buy nine hot drinks and get the 10th for free! All transactions are cashless – card payments only.  There is a water machine next to Laurel (formerly known as Room 5) to provide cold water 24/7. When the café is closed visitors can make hot drinks in the area and we have a microwave/crockery/cutlery for families to use.

Patient and Visitor Lounge

This area is a comfortable space where patients and visitors can relax and re-charge. There is a desk space for visitors to use their laptops and a screen which can be used for events including televised occasions.

Masks are no longer be required in the reception area. Masks are available on entry to the Inpatient Unit. Hand sanitisers will remain in place however we longer be require temperatures to be taken before entering the building.

An investment for the future

Whilst this work is vital to provide the best experience for our patients and their visitors, we have also worked hard to ensure that our refurbishment costs have been kept to a minimum and undertook a rigorous tendering process before we committed. This work has been paid for through investment funds earmarked for essential building projects. Thank you to our supporters for contributing towards the cost of the furniture. 

This refurbishment enables us to create an environment which is fit for purpose for our patients, their families and loved ones. It provides much-needed improvements to our reception and lounge areas, including more privacy for those who need it, and will mean that our staff and volunteers will be able to continue to provide excellent care to our local community. 

Head of Facilities, Jan Anticoni said: “When we were planning our refurbishment projects, we were keen to install systems which would reduce our carbon footprint moving forward. We have installed sensor lighting throughout the reception area and the light levels will vary according to the time of day, reducing our energy consumption and sensor lighting ensures lights are not on when areas are empty.”

In addition to this, each room/area is individually heated and cooled ensuring we are not heating or cooling rooms that are not in use while improving the levels of comfort for those using the rooms. 

Jan added: “We will continue to introduce these systems and make reductions to our energy use as we undertake future building projects. Installing solar panels at Head Office is another project we are investigating have recently had a survey carried out to assess feasibility.”