Gift that will let relatives grieve in greater comfort (From Worcester News)

Gift that will let relatives grieve in greater comfort

5:00pm Saturday 13th March 2010 in

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BEREAVED relatives will be able to pay their respects to loved ones who die at hospital in far greater comfort thanks to a £69,000 gift.

The money will be used to renovate and refurbish the viewing room (formerly called the chapel, waiting room, entrance and approach to the mortuary at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester, paying for new lighting, flooring and furnishings.

Woprk will begin later this year after the money was presented to staff by representatives of the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS).

The WRVS is also giving the orthodontic department £3,000 for specialist equipment.

Director of nursing and midwifery Helen Blanchard said: “We are delighted to have this opportunity to thank the WRVS volunteers for their unstinting support for our hospitals over the years.

“They play an integral role in the life of the hospitals and are much appreciated not only by patients and visitors but staff as well.

“The current facilities provided for grieving relatives are very out of date and in need of complete refurbishment. As well as renovations to the structure of the buildings we shall be paying particular attention to the ethos of the viewing room and relatives room to provide a sympathetic and reflective ambience in which bereaved relatives can take comfort.”

Most of the WRVS volunteers work in the Worcestershire Royal shop, which is the biggest WRVS outlet in the region, manned entirely by volunteers. The shop is open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and at weekends from 10am to 8pm.

The money raised by the WRVS’s shops, including the one at the Royal, is donated to buy equipment or improve facilities and patient care at that hospital.

The WRVS’s Wayfinding volunteers help patients and visitors find their way to the clinics and wards and provide assistance with wheelchairs and locating inpatients.

Another team of volunteers operates the mobile library service and others provide clinic reception services.