Willen Hospice has created a wellbeing space that can offer its patients an immersive interactive or relaxation experience – believed to be the first of its kind in a UK hospice.
After many months of planning, installation and testing, the immersive room is ready to be opened up to the Hospice’s patients and carers, who are coping with the devastating impact of a life-limiting illness. The space was launched with an event on Tuesday attended by MP for Milton Keynes North, Chris Curtis; Mayor of the city, James Lancaster; and Chief Executive of Hospice UK, Toby Porter.
All of the technology in the room was very generously paid for by The Jim Marshall Charity, set-up by the founder of audio and tech specialists Marshall Amplifications, based here in Milton Keynes. Jim himself was given end-of-life care by the Hospice. With this new equipment, the Hospice’s Therapeutic & Wellbeing team can create different immersive experiences that include video, sounds, smells, bubbles, the feeling of a breeze, and more.
Staff can bring patients staying in the Hospice’s In-Patient Unit into the immersive room to experience something they might be missing from the outside world, such as the sights, sounds and smells of a lavender field in full bloom. Patients and their families being supported by the Social Care team can play games and quizzes projected onto the wall using the touch functionality. And the Complementary Therapies team can run enhanced guided relaxation and meditation sessions that allow patients and carers to immerse themselves in a calming scene.
Jenni Marks is the Therapeutic & Wellbeing Operational Lead at the Hospice, who managed this project. “We believe we’re the only hospice in the UK with this fantastic setup,” says Jenni. “It’s really innovative and we’re incredibly proud and privileged to have it. There are so many opportunities for us to use this space to help people affected by life-limiting illness to have wonderful experiences. We're so grateful to The Jim Marshall Charity for enabling us to do this.
“Having a life-limiting illness affects people in so many different ways: physically, psychologically, socially, spiritually and emotionally. As a hospice, we don’t just provide medical care – we also provide therapeutic and wellbeing services that help improve people’s quality of life by looking at them as a whole person.
“During the pandemic we were thinking about how we could still offer the experience of therapies and activities to our patients and their loved ones. One thing we learnt was the power of connection and shared experiences. That’s when we had the idea to create the Immersive room. We can bring patients in and set up a whole scene for them. We can create a cinema for them to watch a film. And they can share those experiences with the people who are most important to them.
“We have a really successful patient exercise group that meets here every week. We’re able to use the Immersive room for the group to play games, which are not only getting people stretching, reaching and using their cardiovascular system a little bit more than they normally would, but also having fun and engaging with each other.”
To find out more about the Hospice’s therapeutic and wellbeing work, visit www.willen-hospice.org.uk/therapeutic-and-wellbeing-services
