Various walls across the children's ward at Royal Bolton Hospital have been transformed into beautiful illustrated floral and garden scenes – all thanks to a talented Manchester-based artist.
The "parents’ room" within the children’s ward now features bright and colourful hand-drawn flowers across the walls to create a more inviting space for the hospital’s younger patients and their families, while the "quiet room" has been decorated in a calming landscape design.
The parents’ room wall art also features a heart-warming quote among the flowers, which reads "Every child is a different kind of flower and all together, they make this world a beautiful garden".
The words "Taking care of yourself is part of taking care of your kids" also appear in the room alongside gentle waves, highlighting the importance of self-care at a time of looking after others.
Myroslava Coates, founder of Myro Doodles who created the ward illustrations, said: “I really wanted to use the power of paint to enhance what’s already there in the ward to make it extra special.
“A lot of emotions can be experienced on children’s wards so I wanted to make sure each room reflected how people’s hospital journeys can be very different.
“All of my illustrations are hand-drawn so that they are truly unique, and it’s so special to know that these rest and recuperation rooms will make a difference to families in Bolton for years to come.”
Staff on the ward brought the idea of revamping the rooms to life as they set themselves a virtual bike ride fundraising challenge.
They covered 370 miles, the equivalent of cycling from Bolton to the Florence Nightingale Hospital in London and part-way back.
Their efforts raised £2,500 for Our Bolton NHS Charity to improve facilities for patients, their families, and staff.
Matron on E5 Ward at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, Andy Butler, said: “Our quiet room and parents’ room are really important areas as it’s where we deliver difficult news, or we offer the space for parents to take a moment for themselves.
“The rooms as they were looked a little tired and required a refresh, and as a team agreed we needed to create a calm and tranquil landscape in our quiet room and a homelier space in our parents’ room.
“We are so thankful to Myro Doodles for helping us to create such wonderful spaces for our children and their families.”
The ward uses the rooms to offer a variety of support to families.
The parents room provides a free space for families to take a moment away from the child’s bed space to have a drink or something to eat and the quiet room helps create an environment where staff can discuss issues that can be sensitive.
Charity manager at Our Bolton NHS Charity, Sarah Skinner, said: “We are so grateful to all the staff on E5 Ward who took part and raised a fantastic amount of money to help improve facilities for their patients.
“Myroslava has done a wonderful job in making sure that no matter what emotions our families experience during their time in hospital, they have space that allows them to pause and be together.”
For more information on how to support Our Bolton NHS Charity visit Bolton NHS Foundation Trust’s website.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here