Enhancing your Environment Staff Toolkit
Version 3.0 November 2022
Please note: some images have be sourced online to offer a visual reference, due to copyright this document is for internal use only.
Introduction
The following guide offers support to enhancing patient environments at University Hospital, Coventry and the Hospital of St Cross in Rugby. If you are looking to improve your ward or department through redecoration then please read this guide carefully.
UHCW NHS Trust is encouraging any improvements to its spaces now reflects upon the principal of this guide as a standard going forward and supports a concise principal when making improvements.
By offering a limited ‘shopping list’ approach it also supports any ongoing life cycling, ensuring those improvements made are maintained and if necessary repaired through the PFI contract.
Where to Start
We strongly advise you gather together a small project steering group to lead on decisions and be a point of contact for UHCW Charity and Estates and Facilities.
Funding
For any project there needs to be a budget available from the start, as there will generally be design fees. This would either be Charity Funding, Trust Capital Funding or centralised small works budget (for works under £5k). There is a different process to be followed for all options.
Most departments have a charitable fund or there is often General Funds available. Please contact UHCW Charity for advice
Understanding the basics and what it might cost
What is PFI?
PFI stands for Private Finance Initiative. UHCW NHS Trust entered into a PFI Agreement in late 2002 which lasts until 2042.
The Agreement is to provide a number of buildings on the University Hospital (UH) site, which are managed by the PFI Consortium (main hospital, CRM, CSSD, ICT & CSB). This includes Hard FM Services managed by Vinci Facilities (maintenance and lifecycle of the building fabric), and also the maintenance, service and lifecycle of medical equipment and furniture (GE Healthcare).
It also includes the provision of soft services to the building by ISS Mediclean (domestic, cleaning, portering, security, switchboard & waste).
The PFI Consortium also provide services at the Hospital of St Cross but the lifecycle responsibility of the building and furniture remains the Trust’s.
PFI Furniture
Due to the PFI Agreement all furniture on the UH site needs to be purchased through the non-medical furniture ordering process. These orders are managed by GE and will ensure that all furniture is covered by the PFI agreement until it ends in 2042.
The furniture purchased will have gone through an approval process to ensure it meets all the requirements from an Infection Prevention Control (IPC) , Manual Handling, Health and Safety (H&S) and Fire perspective. The PFI will maintain the furniture and will also replace when broken or when it is deemed to need replacement.
Small Works
Works up to a value of £100,000
As a PFI Trust, all works needs to be done by the PFI Provider (Vinci Facilities).
The small works process is available on Trust Nav (under Estates) and requires an application form to be completed to request works.
Small works valued under £5k may be funded out of the centralised budget (if deemed to be clinically essential and dependent on available budget). Any queries should be sent to SmallWorks.Request@uhcw.nhs.uk
Once a small works request has been submitted it will be reviewed and then if approved will be raised with Vinci Facilities to review and provide quotes. The quote will be issued to the Estates Team for review and then onto the requestor if funding is required from either Charity or Capital.
How much is it likely to cost?
Whilst under the PFI it is not possible to shop around for cheaper alternatives, therefore projects costs can seem high. But please remember not only is the purchase price included in the cost, it also includes a lifetime guarantee through the maintenance/lifecycle programme is, so if it gets damaged it will be repaired/replaced .
Example of furniture costs:-
To furnish a newly created staff room in 2022, including the provision of 4 dining tables, 12 dining chairs, 2 coffee tables, 4 tub chairs. In total cost IRO £4,500.
Example of small works costs for small space enhancements.:
The following are all based on 2022/23 prices:
Refurbishment of a staff room
£15,000-£20,000
This includes replacement flooring, lighting, fixed furniture, redecoration and provides a hot water boiler for making drinks and cold water dispenser
Refurbishment of a Waiting Room
£5,000-£10,000
This includes full redecoration, wall protection and vinyl wall covering in a choice of designs.
Conversion of room to Counselling Room
This includes replacement flooring, lighting, blinds & redecoration.
The following pages offer guidance on using colour, making changes to flooring, lighting, furniture, and choosing the right artwork for your space.
General Redecoration
Avoid excessive use of patterns and ensure consistent choice of decoration themes across spaces.
Colour
The Trust has a standard colour scheme in use and requests the use of the hospital’s own mix of white is used wherever possible Formerly known as DULUX ‘Jasmine White’
We understand colour is often required to define a space and so we have compiled a small colour palette, defining 5 alternative DULUX colours:
SUMMER SURPRISE 3
50 RR 15/400
How to use colour
Ageing eyes see colour in lower saturation therefore pastel shades become difficult to distinguish. Bright saturated colours, if used correctly can provide the perfect environment.
• Painted as solid blocks on an otherwise white canvas will define a space more effectively (refer to the orange wall indicating a section of corridor as a seating area) and allow for the easy colour matching when touching up walls (as the white areas are those more likely to be damaged by knocks)
• Using solid colour above the beds only, keeping the rest white… will draw the eye in more and define the bed-space.
• With white walls we can be bold with our choice of door colours for example toilets. Brighter the better!
• Lounge spaces and quiet rooms should remain restful, therefore injecting colour through soft furnishings, using bold choices of furniture colour
MAGENTA
The bold impact of reds create good contrast, however can be overwhelming if used incorrectly. Therefore we often find variations of magenta are used in dementia settings, further to piloting this in a 4 bedded bay on Hoskyn it not only creates a distinctive space but also compliments the existing NHS blue curtains and bedside armchairs
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BLUES AND GREENS
Green’s Teals and Blues create a calming and restful environment, therefore are suited to patient bays and waiting's areas.
LIGHT GREY
Can be used in place of Jasmine White to create a strip of muted colour where needed.
For example as a back drop to hand painted murals above medical gasses (as pictured).
MAUVE (DARK PURPLE)
A colour already used widely across UHCW, a bold contrasting choice to help create a focal point a such as the reception desk, or information hub.
Furniture
Use furniture that enables people to accomplish daily activities safely and independently. Consider patient / staff need when selecting furniture, ensuring daily activities can be carried our safely and independently. All furniture needs to meet IPC, H&S, Manual Handling & Fire regulations.
As a PFI Trust all furniture needs to be bought through GE using the non-medical furniture process (which can be found on Trust Nav under Estates). If the item of furniture you require is not listed then please contact GE Healthcare for advice or email: NonMedical.FurnitureOrdering@uhcw.nhs.uk
Lighting
The Trust has now introduced Thorux Smartscan lighting. This is available with the option of a dimmer switch (pictured below).
Windows
All window coverings are standard vertical blinds. Or if you simply wish to obscure a view you can instead opt for an opaque window film.
A number of areas within the Trust have found great benefit from applying solar gain film to windows that are in direct sunlight for many hours. positive effect to the environment.
Signage
All signage must comply to Trust standard and be requested through the small works process.
Wall Protection
Any areas suspectable to damage (particularly if chairs often lean against the wall) would require a strip of white wall protection (as pictured below). This is a robust material so can withstand knocks and scrapes.
You can also use Acrovyn by Design as a wall protection material (listed within the ‘artwork’ section of this guide)
Flooring
If your proposed enhancement is in a clinical area, the flooring must be TARGETT OPTIMA (White)
If you wish to refurbish a rest room or similar it can be changed to a beech wood effect vinyl (as pictured)
A number of Staff Rooms have been refurbished during 2021/22 to an agreed Generally these are Charity
If a room is using kitchen appliances then it must meet the required fire reguThis will be assessed when you
Artwork
Art can define environments, help de-institutionalise and Individualise spaces and support wayfinding.
Theme
In most cases areas in need of a facelift will have no access to outside space, nor will they have a view, and so we can offer this through the use of colour and artwork. Depending on the type of artwork you would like to have (listed below) there are plenty of design options to choose from. This will be made available on request.
For any artwork installation please avoid having any clutter in the area, for example clearing walls of notice boards/ laminated paper and keeping equipment and medical supplies tidy (organised into a cupboard) and consider line of sight for service users. So sit where they would sit and look at your view.
Artwork Options
Ceiling tiles
Supplied either with our without a back light, this option is great for treatment rooms without a window. Please obtain a quote via a small works request. You can also add a false window via this supplier:
False Windows - New Vision Signs and Graphics (new-vision.co.uk)
Framed Artwork
Framed artwork can be placed along corridors and waiting areas, however due to IPC and decontamination processes (fogging) framed artwork cannot be placed in clinical rooms.
The Arts Coordinator will be able to help you source suitable original artwork. Please email arts@uhcw.nhs.uk
Please note: the installation of all framed worked will need to be included into any small works costings.
Vinyl Wall Covering
We use a type of wall protection material that is thin enough to have an image printed onto the reverse, unlike normal vinyl it can withstand heavy use so is great is high traffic areas where you want a big impact. You can choose from a number of designs. This would be provided via a small works request. Vinyl is great option for larger walls spaces and clinical rooms.
Hand Painted Wall Decals
This option is available only to specific areas so please contact arts@uhcw.nhs.uk to see if it is possible to do.
Practicalities/Room Closures
All framed artworks are secured to the wall with mirror-plates, these are very easy to install and take just a few minutes to hang. There will be minor noise disruption from the drill.
All other options may require a room closure for a period of time whilst Vinci carry out installation work.
Artwork Options
For larger projects it is advised to set aside enough funding to support an artist commission. This will allow service users to be involved in the design consultation and work created specifically for the environment it will be displayed in.
However we do appreciate budgets are often tight, and if a small area, or one of a number of spaces being replicated across the Trust the arts programme has teamed up with to local print makers, making it easy for staff and services users to choose their preferred design. Please remember artwork cannot be placed in clinical rooms
To get a quote contact arts@uhcw.nhs.uk
CLAIRE HENLEY
Claire is a Warwickshire based painter with a wide collection of work available to buy as framed prints. They are particularly well suited to areas that perhaps need to reflect a calming or reminiscent space.
Online portfolio:
Portfolio Claire Henley Art
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EMILY HONEY
Emily is a local illustrator. Her bold, colourful works are perfect for cheering up waiting areas, whilst her character illustrations are ideal for younger patients.
Emily’s portfolio (ignore prices): EHoneyIllustration - Etsy UK
Wall Vinyl Options
Two material options are available for vinyl artworks. One is a standard cheaper hospital grade vinyl suitable for areas unlikely to get knocked or scuffed. The other is a more durable wall protection material that will withstand impact or excessive wear and generally last much longer. This is however a much more expensive option.
Whichever one you opt for we have complied a small licensed image library for you to choose from. The first set are photographic stock images . The second set are two original artist designs offered as vectors.
For larger budgets we can source a bespoke artist
