Support group raises £7,000 to open private room for patients at QA Hospital

Mark Cubbon, chief executive of Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, officially opened the Patient Quiet Room earlier this week.

The room is on the Upper Gastro intestinal (GI) Surgery ward on E-level and is a place for clinicians to give information to patients and their families.

It has been furnished and decorated thanks to a donation of more than £7,000 by OPA-Splash – the Portsmouth branch of the Oesophageal Cancer Patients’ Association (OPA).

Consultant surgeon Simon Toh said the room was an important addition to the surgical floor.

He said: ‘OPA-Splash have raised more than £7,000 for a quiet room on our surgical floor so that cancer patients and their carers and family can have a peaceful, calm sanctuary in the midst of a busy hospital.

‘We often have to give difficult news about their condition there and it allows patients space and time to come to terms with their condition in a safe and confidential environment.’

Phil Coverdale, branch co-ordinator for OPA-Splash, said it was great to see the room finally open for use after two years of asking. He added it was already showing its benefits and was being used by other patients, not just those of the Upper GI ward.

‘In the past, there hasn’t really been a place for patients and their families to be told sensitive news so the room is about giving them dignity,’ Phil said.

‘It gives them somewhere to be away from the bustle of the hospital where they can be together.

‘Most of the money came from one person but we have also had members doing sponsored walks and raising money at our quarterly meetings.

‘There is enough cash left to maintain the room for the next three years.’

Phil added: ‘It was fantastic to have the chief executive open the room, it shows how much it is valued.’

Mr Cubbon welcomed the room and thanked OPA-Splash for their generosity. He said: ‘The quiet room is a wonderful addition to the hospital and I’m delighted that patients, their families and carers will now be able to make use of it.

‘Patients affected by cancer tell us that having a quiet place to reflect is so important and I would like to thank the OPA for making it a reality, as without their tireless fundraising it wouldn’t have been possible.’