Improving Accessibility Creating a Welcoming Environment at St Mary’s Hospice

St Mary’s Hospice provides specialist palliative care for people with life-shortening conditions, including cancer, heart, lung, and neurological diseases. Supporting approximately 26,500 people each year, the hospice offers services such as inpatient care, complementary therapy, day hospice, and bereavement support.

Covering both rural and urban areas, St Mary’s reaches communities facing significant health and economic inequalities, including some of the most deprived areas in Barrow-in-Furness. With a focus on holistic, person-centred care, their dedicated team supports individuals and families through every stage of their journey.

The Need

In 2021, it became clear that the reception area was outdated and did not offer the same level of care and consideration as St Mary’s Hospice clinical services.

Consultations with staff, patients, and visitors highlighted key issues, including a lack of privacy, inefficient use of space, poor accessibility, and an unwelcoming atmosphere. One of the most pressing concerns was the absence of a private patient entrance, requiring patients to enter through a busy public area.

St Mary’s Hospice reached out to CRASH to help with their essential redesign to transform the reception area into a warm, welcoming, and accessible place of comfort and reassurance for all.

The Project

CRASH Corporate Patron, Arcadis joined the initial visit and their project advisors produced a detailed report highlighting the hospice’s next steps.

Additionally, CRASH Corporate Patrons, Gardiner & Theobald, British Gypsum, Kingspan Group & Dulux Decorator Centre and Support Altro all supported with this project, providing pro bono or discounted materials and professional expertise.

Dulux Decorator Centre worked with St Mary’s Hospice to create a thoughtfully curated colour palette that reflected the warm, compassionate, and welcoming environment St Mary’s aimed to provide for its service users and their families.

The total Gift in Kind value for this project was £123,145, for professional expertise, pro bono products, discounted materials, including a grant provided by the generous support from the construction industry.

The Outcome

“The project has also had unexpected outcomes with a deeper relationship developing between Bob Sutcliffe of the Creative Health Trust resulting in not only creative support for the project but a grant towards creative therapy. There are also plans for Bob to deliver painting workshops as part of our staff wellbeing programme and to those engaged with our dementia services.”

These improvements ensure St Mary’s Hospice remains a warm, accessible, and functional space, supporting the highest level of care for all who walk through our doors.