UHNM Team of the Month: Sodexo Royal Stoke Estates Team

A team of Sodexo Estates staff who helped turn an old office into a new sensory room, transforming the hospital experience for younger patients with additional needs have received recognition for their hard work. 

Reece Stacey-Jones, Reece Martin, Scott Wilkinson and Peter Robinson worked closely with the Orthoptics Team at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) to create a safe and relaxing space for patients who may become anxious, distressed or nervous about their eye appointment. 

Funded by UHNM Charity, the room contains padding, colour changing bubble tube, toys and sensory lighting which can help patients to relax and allow them to forget about the hospital environment. 

They were nominated for the award by Laura Worrall, Advanced Orthoptist. 

Laura said: “The Sodexo Estates team went above and beyond to help with the setting up our new Orthoptic sensory room to a tight deadline. The team came to the department on several occasions, sometimes with very short notice, and always arrived with a smile on their faces. They were very helpful with the moving out the old office, which was in the room before, and gave their expert advice to where they think things should go and what would be the best layouts. They listened and took on board all our ideas for our sensory and waiting rooms, helping us to implement these in the best way for the benefit of patients and their families.

“They ensured the work was done quickly and without any impact to patients or clinics. Now our Orthoptic waiting room is much more child-friendly, it looks incredible, and is improving our patient’s experience, in particular those with additional or complex needs, or families experiencing bad news. The team went above and beyond, and we are so thankful to them for all their hard work and positive attitude.”

Claire Carrick, Head of Orthoptics and Refractive Optometry said: “We’ve used the room countless times since it was completed. Parents have said on a number of occasions that they would never have got their child into hospital without this room. We have had patients who have had procedures carried out in here rather than a general anaesthetic, families have used if after receiving bad news, and younger patients and their families can relax after an invasive procedure. We’ve also let other specialities use the room for patients who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to have their procedure. The team from Sodexo have been great, working every day with a smile and we’re really pleased with it.” 

The team were presented with their award by Lorraine Whitehead, Director of Estates, Facilities and PFI at UHNM. 

Simon Cavey, Building Estates Manager for Sodexo said: “I’m very proud of the team who have all stepped up when it was asked of them. The room was a nice change from our usual work, and it has been brilliant to hear the difference it has made to patients and their loved ones.” 

Scott Wilkinson, a Joiner and part of the team to work on the sensory room said: “It’s nice to be appreciated and know that our work helps patients and their loved ones. It’s been a pleasure to work with the Orthoptics team, normally we look after door, window and flooring repairs and maintenance, so it was nice to work together on this and see the positive results at the end.”