The Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust has teamed up with Wye Valley NHS Trust to create a friendly and welcoming space for patients with mental health issues in the Emergency Department at Hereford County Hospital.

The treatment room has been recently refurbished but the walls are currently bare, cold and clinical.

So the two Trusts have teamed up to appeal for local artists and photographers to contribute artwork to display on the walls to create a warm, friendly, positive and uplifting environment.

“When we care for patients with mental health issues, the ambiance of a room is important,” said James, the Clinical Lead for the Hereford Mental Health Liaison Team at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust.

“It’s essential the environment is warm, friendly, calming and positive. Hospitals, by their very nature, include environments which can appear austere and are necessarily clinical because of the procedures and treatments which are taking place.

“We want to do all we can to create a welcoming and friendly space for people with mental health issues who come into the Emergency Department,” added James.

So the two Trusts have teamed up, sourced funding for a handful of images to go on the walls and have invited local artists and photographers to contribute pictures or photographs they have produced.

“We want images which are positive, inspiring, uplifting and preferably local,” said Pippa, an Emergency Department Sister.

“A great example could be a photograph of the recent aurora borealis captured in Herefordshire, or a painting of the rolling Herefordshire countryside.

The images will be printed at A1 size (59.4cm x 84.1cm) with space for portrait and landscape images on the walls.

Local signage and print company SignWorx has agreed to produce and mount the images, which need to be supplied at least A4 size and 300 dpi (dots per inch).

Anyone offering an image must be the copyright holder and they will have to sign permission to allow the images to be used in this way.

Images scan be emailed to photos@wvt.nhs.uk by close of play on Friday, December 6, with a brief description – i.e. when the image was created/where the photograph was taken.

Pic caption:

Pictured with the blank wall in the ED treatment room are, left to right: Hereford Mental Health Liaison Team Clinical Lead for Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, James, ED Sister Pippa, ED Consultant Cat and Ryan Midgley, from SignWorx.