£11,000 of donations help create state-of-the-art sensory room

The sensory room at Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital closed during the pandemic, and remained closed for over three years. During this time, the hospital was not able to support local children with sensory needs, including those with special educational needs, babies in need of sensory stimulation, and children and young people who need a calm down space, such as teenagers with a mental health diagnosis, as well as they wanted to.

The sensory room was last refurbished back in December 2005 and, while well-equipped at the time, after nearly 20 years, much of the equipment didn’t meet restrictions of infection control and, due to wear and tear, the majority of the equipment was broken beyond repair.

Thanks to generous donations, Hampshire Hospitals Charity has been able to allocate £11,000 to this much needed service to bring a sensory room back to the children of Basingstoke.

The room is now in regular use as a safe, therapeutic place to stimulate a child’s senses and engage in development, via appropriate play, away from a clinical environment. The colourful and inviting space includes new, interactive and engaging sensory equipment that provides stimulation and relaxation for patients with sensory requirements including tactile wall panels, cloud mirrors, bubble tubes, moveable floor pads and a fibre optic infinity tunnel. It’s anticipated that over 1,000 patients will benefit from this newly refurbished space each year.

This room is a vital part of the hospitals offering to local people as play in hospital is essential for improving a child’s wellbeing and reduces anxiety, fear and stress associated with being in hospital. Play can reduce children’s feelings of pain associated with hospital treatment.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated to help us bring this much needed sensory room back into use