Member Article

Building firm helps children’s hospice shine

A North East building firm has helped bring a smile to the faces of children with progressive and life-limiting conditions.

National Building & Maintenance Solutions (NBMS), based in Newcastle upon Tyne, has worked with St Oswald’s Hospice, in Gosforth, to revamp the kitchen in its children and young adults service area, which has been providing short breaks for families across the North East for more than 20 years.

The outdated existing space has been fully refurbished and transformed into a modern and accessible kitchen – and the building company even added some innovative touches at their own expense, including an interactive media wall.

Ray Dees, of NBMS, said: “As well as the requested refurbishment work, we made lots of significant upgrades at our own cost. This has included installing a media wall, which has a 4K television screen with a slideshow featuring fish and animals, and spotlights that can be separated into three zones to allow the colours to be mixed throughout the kitchen area. We’ve then used a software programme to create the content for the media wall, which can be edited and changed at any time, as requested by the Hospice free of charge.

“The project did present some challenges, not least the fact that it was still a functioning Hospice and this was a major building project. We had to put measures in place to prevent dust and noise so as not to disturb the staff and patients within the Children and Young Adults Service.

“We also put infection control in place as all areas of the Hospice are clinical. Health and safety is always paramount to us but even more so when children are around.”

The kitchen refurbishment project has resulted in a more pleasant and user-friendly place for patients, families, staff and volunteers to spend time.

Holly Smith, Acting Matron of Children and Young Adults Services at St Oswald’s Hospice, said: “The new kitchen is a fantastic addition to the Children and Young Adults Service. It provides a safe and modern environment for our children, young adults, families, staff and volunteers to use. They can enjoy activities such as cooking and baking, while the media wall and lighting provide added interactive and sensory experiences.

“The NBMS team were fantastic and worked so hard to ensure the success of this project. They were so friendly and went above and beyond to provide us with our new facilities. The measures they put in place also ensured the minimum disruption for us and the children, young adults and families we are proud to support.”

Andrew Greenwell, of NBMS, added: “We’re delighted to have worked on a project, which will make a difference to people’s lives.

“We have strong core values and put them into practice to maximise value for money. This is extremely important when working with a charity to try and get the most out of their budgets. So, if we can help to maximise funds and make them stretch further, that is exactly what we will do.

“We have great respect for the team at St Oswald’s Hospice. Their hard work is second to none and they’re all amazing!”

For more information about NBMS and its services, https://www.nbm-solutions.co.uk/

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