Mural transforms communal lounge at Derbyshire hospital

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The communal lounge at a Derbyshire hospital has been transformed after a local artist teamed up with patients to gain inspiration and create a stunning mural.

Local artist Anna Wheelhouse has completed a beautiful mural in the communal lounge at Cygnet Views, in Matlock after a request from service users to brighten the space.

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Anna had met with service users at the Cygnet Health Care-run service earlier this year to pick a theme for the mural and everyone agreed they wanted it to have a connection to the local area.

Polly Allison, Head of Care, said: “During community meetings we spoke about brightening up the environment and thought we would reach out to Anna as she had done fantastic murals at other services. Anna was lovely, she was so friendly! She came and met with staff and patients.

Communal lounge at Cygnet Views has been transformed thanks to local artist, Anna WheelhouseCommunal lounge at Cygnet Views has been transformed thanks to local artist, Anna Wheelhouse
Communal lounge at Cygnet Views has been transformed thanks to local artist, Anna Wheelhouse

“Anna asked us what we wanted and collectively decided on a Matlock theme. The mural is of Lumsdale Falls which is within walking distance of the Views.”

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To make space for Anna to work on the mural, staff and service users took a group trip to the seaside at Ingoldmells for the day. Time was spent enjoying the beach in the sun, walking around the markets and enjoying some fish and chips.

Polly added: “Service users and staff enjoyed the day and had the pleasure of seeing the mural when they returned. It was such a lovely surprise and reaction from the service users.

“The end result is fantastic and is enjoyed by all. It has made a massive difference, all the patients love it and everyone who walks past it says how lovely it is.

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“We are also working on our own mural now in the corridor, so watch this space!”

Speaking about how much it meant to her to complete this work for us, Anna said: “It was an absolute pleasure to do this for the entire team at Cygnet Views and to paint a mural based on the local landscape.

“I was inspired by the local stone and beautiful scenes and wanted to represent this and make a mural that was calming for the service users.

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“The service has such lovely staff and managers, they were so welcoming and it was a pleasure to complete this for them. I really want to say thank you for having me.

“I hope the service users had a great day out whilst I painted.”

Cygnet Views, on Wellington Street, is a 10 bed high dependency complex care service for women with learning disabilities and associated complex needs.

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