AN APPEAL to raise £100,000 to renovate the chemotherapy unit at Solihull Hospital has been launched.
Plans have been unveiled to create a therapy garden for patients and their loved ones at the Solihull Haematology and Oncology Day Unit at the Lode Lane site.
The works on the garden will be carried out by a contractor.
Solihull Hospital Charity also wants to make the interior of the unit a brighter and less ‘clinical looking’.
So far the charity, which provides added extras not be provided by the NHS, has raised £5,000.
A series of nature pictures including flowers and scenery have been placed on the unit.
One cancer patient, who did not wish to be named, said: “I love the colour schemes and designs on all the walls, it makes me feel so much more positive and relaxed whilst receiving my treatment.
“It also gives my wife something else to look at.”
At Solihull Hospital, some patients’ chemotherapy treatments can range from three to six sessions over a number of days and each session can last for up to 10 hours per day.
Gemma Hughes, the unit manager, said: “The atmosphere in the Solihull Haematology and Oncology Day Unit was quite clinical, so as a team we thought that wall vinyls around the unit would begin to create a positive aesthetic.”
The charity wants to create a therapeutic garden filled with colourful flowers, a gazebo and a space for patients to plant herbs and vegetables to help them get active,
Rachel Learmonth, fundraising manager at Solihull Hospital Charity said: “We hope to extend this positivity towards the unit’s new garden areas, creating a therapeutic and private area for patients to have a break from their treatment.
“As a charity we aim to go ‘over and above’ for our cancer patients, we want our patients to feel as comfortable as possible in their surroundings and make the unit a home away from home.”
The unit was officially opened last July by Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Carl Ikeme and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust’s chief executive Dame Julie Moore.
Before the opening of the £2.2million unit, most chemotherapy patients have been treated on Ward 19 at Heartlands Hospital or at the Sheldon Unit at Good Hope.
Over the years there has been a greater need for chemotherapy treatment at Heartlands which saw treatment delays and new patients being put on waiting lists.
Thanks to the unit at Solihull, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which oversees the running of the hospital, is able to offer more patients treatment.
For more or to donate visit www.hospitalcharity.org/therapy-garden or call 0121 371 4852.
