Safe haven: transforming relatives’ rooms.

Providing high quality facilities for the relatives of dying patients is not always given priority in hospitals. A trust aimed to address this service gap In this article[horizontal ellipsis] Carrying out an audit of existing premises Devising a template for rooms that meet relatives' needs Combining a domestic feel with infection control policies Choosing artwork, colour, furnishings and other contents Bird S et al (2011) Safe haven: transforming relatives' rooms. Nursing Times; 107: 5, 16-18. The quality of facilities available for relatives and carers of hospital patients, which is particularly important when distressing news is given, often receives little attention. This article outlines a project undertaken at a Liverpool trust to improve the environment of relatives' rooms. The project adopted an evidence-based, design-led approach and used standard hospital materials and suppliers to refurbish relatives' rooms. Audit and feedback from relatives and staff was used to inform the project, and literature on enhancing the healing environment was used to formulate a trust-wide standard for all relatives' rooms.