Patients welcome new Emergency Department chairs

ACT, the independent registered charity for Addenbrooke's and the Rosie, has recently provided essential funds to support patients attending the Emergency Department.

ACT has provided over £6,000 to buy new comfortable chairs for the waiting areas in the Emergency Department. The former hard plastic 'school' chairs have been replaced with new comfortable padded seats to enhance the patient experience of waiting in the department in both the 'green chairs' (minor injuries) and 'blue chairs' (major injuries) waiting areas.

Karen Beesley in the ED with the new chairs.

The new seating is fixed, which prevents borrowing of waiting area chairs for use in different areas of the department, and the 'blue chairs' area can now seat up to 30 people. This means that patients who are well enough to sit in the waiting area while waiting to see a doctor or for blood results can do so, which helps free up cubical spaces for other emergency patients, improving the patient flow.

The new chairs are the right height for those finding it difficult to get up and down and softer for those with arthritis who found the old seats very uncomfortable. The 'blue chairs' seating area also includes double seats for loved ones to sit together and padded benches, which best utilise the limited space available. One patient said: "It's lovely to be able to sit close to my wife. It really makes a difference when waiting here."

Karen Beesley, Administration & Business Manager in the ED said: "When we installed the new chairs you could immediately see the transformation in patients when they moved from the old chairs to the new ones. It really has made such a difference to the patient experience. Many thanks to ACT for helping us to make this much-needed improvement."

ACT - Making a difference for patients. Registered charity number: 1048868.

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