The new Bassetlaw Hospital Emergency Village which includes the Emergency Department, Children’s Assessment Unit (CAU) and Assessment Treatment Centre (ATC) was completed in October 2024 after a grant from the DHSC. Services are now being transferred to the new building and will provide more accessible same day and 24/7 urgent care. The grant covered the essential building and supply of medical equipment but not the additional play facilities which help to support children’s visits. As hospital visits can be incredibly distressing for children and young people, additional funds are now required to provide play and distraction equipment.
The children’s waiting areas for ED and CAU have been given a woodland theme to create a calming environment and age appropriate toys will be available during the often long wait for treatment. An Omni-Vista Intall is a specialist sensory projector which can be fitted into the ceiling of the CAU waiting room. It comes equipped with a range of interactive games and calming scenes helping to ease anxiety and create moments of joy and relaxation. It will greatly enhance the facilities with its motion-activated sensory projection and will significantly benefit children with learning disabilities and neurological disorders.
The CAU waiting area will also be used after outpatient hours by the play team with children from the ward. The Omni-Vista Install can provide a distraction during treatment and support health care professionals to encourage movement, rehabilitation and support pain management. The new facilities will benefit up to 12,000 children and young people who attend the ED each year with a variety of medical conditions, injuries and mental health crisis.