Midlands based artist Lynne Hollingsworth has returned to the Hospital of St Cross to bring more colour into two wards at the hospital.
In 2016 the Friends of St Cross funded Lynne’s first visit to the hospital when she decorated the Day Room at the end of Mulberry Ward where patients take part in the Healing Arts programme as part of their rehabilitation.
Lynne was welcomed back to brighten up both Mulberry and Oak wards with similar scenes from nature. Her work started in the corridor leading into the two wards and then carried on through all the bays and the side rooms. Patients were asked what designs they would like to see and watched them come to fruition as Lynne painted around them!
Ward Manager Clare Noden said “many of our patients are with us for some time while recovering from serious illnesses and Lynne’s paintings are so much more welcoming than plain walls. They are a great stimulus for visitors conversations with their friends and relatives. My favourite is the cherry blossom in one of the ladies’ bays.”
The work was jointly funded by the Friends of St Cross and the UHCW Charity. Willy Goldschmidt, Chairman of the Friends of St Cross, said “The Friends have seen the difference the Healing Arts Programme makes to patients and staff and so were pleased to contribute to this expansion of the decoration of the wards.”
Eileen Rock, Head of the UHCW Charity said “It’s great to be working in partnership with the Friends of St Cross and I look forward to many more joint projects which make such a difference to the patients attending the Hospital of St Cross many of whom come from Coventry and further afield!”
Photo: Ward Manager, Clare Noden beside one of the murals.