On Wednesday 20th April, Calderdale Eye Clinic celebrated the grand opening of their new service, a sensory room. Huddersfield Town's Club Ambassador, Andy Booth was there with Chief Opereating Officer, Jo Fawcus to officially open the new room.
The additional space provided with new and improved services will be used in lots of ways:
- A sensory room. To support learning disability patients with a calm environment away from the busy waiting area. Clinicians can examine them in a room where they feel safe, supporting a positive patient experience. See images on the right to see what type of equipment the eye clinic has installed.
- A comfort room. The team can provide a listening ear and support for patients hearing bad news before leaving the clinic.
- A CVI room. Where the team can register sight impaired adults/children away from a clinic room, freeing up clinicians to continue to see other patients in their clinics.
This room is all about making patient experience better and making them feel comfortable whilst going through what might be a destressing situation.
Natalie Rice, Ophthalmology Technician, was a key colleague behind getting this new improved Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) room completed.
Natalie said: "We've been raising money for a number of years to improve services and experiences for our patients. I suggested that we use some of it to create a room where colleagues can provide a listening ear for patients who receive devastating news of irreversible sight loss, be registered with a sight impairment, and be supported with information and referrals.
"Our previous CVI room was very cramped but following a reorganisation of the clinic, a larger room was allocated to us. I thought about how we could fully use the space and support our paediatric patients and patients with learning disabilities, who previously have struggled to have a good experience.
"Often these patients have a long wait to see the clinician meaning some children can become destressed and upset making the examination challenging."
Jo Fawcus, Chief Operating Officer, said: "I was delighted to open the CVI room and am very proud of all the colleagues who worked tirelessly to get it in place. We must celebrate Natalie whose commitment and determination to do this is truly inspirational.
"This room now offers all our Ophthalmology patients a safe and calming place to talk, learn about resources available to them, have a cuppa or just take time out as we know busy clinics can be overwhelming."
CHFT Charity have been supporting the eye clinic in completing this new room and have contributed towards the new room. Emma Kovaleski, Charity Manager, said: "I am absolutely blown away with the energy and enthusiasm of the Eye Clinic Team, for their dedication to making improvements, enhancing patient experience, and putting the patient first."
