Ipswich Hospital nurses fundraise to decorate parent rooms

Sharon Ward, who has been working at Ipswich Hospital for 18 years, said that her aim was always to keep improving facilities and provide access to information for families who come through the unit. 

The neonatal unit at Ipswich Hospital consists of a six-bed bay as well as two single bedrooms and two family rooms for parents whose babies were born prematurely or need extra care at the facility. 

Sharon and her colleagues would like to make the rooms more “homely” by bringing in more colours and purchasing some cosy decorations. 

Sharon said: “We're looking to buy things like pictures for the walls, bed covers, and calming lighting. 

“If we have enough funds, we would also like to buy bigger things, like more comfy seating and even little perks such as toiletries for the families.  

“We’d like the parents to feel comfortable in those rooms, as some of them could be on the unit for weeks on end if their babies are born very prematurely."

The nurses involved the “veteran parents” who previously used the facility to give suggestions on what could be improved.

Sharon has recently opened online fundraising to collect money for the project and met the target of £500 in about seven hours. 

She added: “I know that everybody has fundraising causes, so I set a little target to at least buy bed covers to start with. 

“But the fundraising went crazy. The veteran parents, who are amazing at supporting us in anything that we want to do on the unit, helped a lot. 

“It feels very overwhelming that people want to support us in this project.” 

Support the fundraising here.

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