CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, has won two awards at the 2021 Building Better Healthcare Awards.
The Building Better Healthcare Awards is an annual national award showpiece which seeks to recognise the very best in creating positive change within the healthcare sphere, showcasing innovation and improvement in the built environment and in medical device design, as well as celebrating the fantastic work of individuals operating in the sector.
The awards for both 2020 and 2021 were handed out the Building Better Healthcare Awards ceremony at The Brewery in London in November this year.
Among its triumphs, CW+ was handed the award for the Best Interior Design Project thanks to its new, state-of-the-art intensive care unit [ICU] at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
The world-class expansion of the ICU at the hospital was recognised for the creation of a first-of-its-kind patient-led approach to care, improving the recovery and wellbeing of patients. The new unit incorporates the latest innovations and digital solutions that can be personalised to reduce anxiety, pain and stress. The acoustics, lighting, layout and furnishing have also all been specifically selected for the benefit of the patient’s brain, body and senses to help them rest and heal more effectively.
The patient-focused environment also includes media screens to enable patients to stay in contact with family and friends, as well as access noise-reducing equipment and the latest sensor technologies to monitor patient progress and recovery. The build also includes a 110m2 adjacent indoor botanical Sky Garden, designed by award-winning landscape designer, Jinny Blom. The garden aims to bring the outdoors inside and directly to patients to support cognitive function, wellbeing, and the rehabilitation of ICU patients, as well as provide a space for loved ones and staff.
The second accolade secured by the charity was in the Best Collaborative Arts Project/Performance category, which was awarded for its pioneering Arts for All: Virtual Connections programme.
The programme is in essence a digital arts project for patients and staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Virtual Connections was first formed in May 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic with the aim of reconnecting the hospital’s team of resident artists to patients, staff and those self-isolating in the wider community to support their health and wellbeing through creative online workshops covering mindfulness, creative movement, harp recitals and art history.
As artists were able to start returning to hospitals in person, the Virtual Connections programme remained an important method for maintaining the connection between artists, patients and staff, and is now being integrated into a new hybrid approach incorporating both in-person and online arts participation.
CW+ says that the innovative blend of live arts activities with telehealth technologies allows for wider participation and greater accessibility than ever before.
Trystan Hawkins, Director of Patient Environment at CW+, who led on both award-winning projects, commented: “We are delighted to have won in two categories at the Building Better Healthcare Awards. The recognition of the Arts for All: Virtual Connections programme in 2020 is testament to the hard work of our dedicated team during the first national lockdown. In a challenging time, we produced a platform which benefits both our Trust’s patients and the wider community. The platform shows the strength of our participatory programmes and the partnerships with we have built with the artists and organisations. We would like to thank everyone involved.
“We are also extremely proud to have received an award for our recently opened ICU at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. The development of this innovative unit was based on extensive research, and we are constantly collecting and analysing data to evaluate the real impact of this extraordinary environment on patient recovery and wellbeing. Our aim is to build an optimum template of best-practice care to share nationally and beyond.”
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
