Case study:

11 May 2010

Refurbishment of the Rainbow Rooms in Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Key points

Over a period of three months Birmingham Children’s Hospital completely refurbished its bereavement suite to create a quiet and peaceful area in which families can view their child.

The Rainbow Rooms were converted from a clinical area next to the labs and mortuary into a dedicated space for bereaved families with additional seating, refreshment facilities and a garden area

The refurbishment of the rooms, which were re-opened in July 2007, was made possible through BCH Charities (the hospital’s charitable trust) and the King’s Fund, which ran a national programme focusing on enhancing care environments at the end of life.

Before starting on the work the steering group consulted closely with service users, bereaved families and staff and also visited a number of other trusts and public buildings to learn about best practice.

The result is a private area where families can spend time with their child and say their last goodbyes.

The mantra for the whole project has been ‘Death is not always a failure’.

The steering group will continue to monitor how the new rooms are used.

Information will be collected on the number of visitors as well as the time and frequency of visits.

In addition the group will seek feedback on the experience of staff, external health care visitors and bereaved families.