Havens

“It’s just a really nice, quiet spot to come for lunch in the sun, and just gather your thoughts.”

“I use it because I like just sometimes to come and zone out and just have fifteen, twenty minutes of, I don’t know, sometimes I might read something, look at my phone, or sometimes it’s just about staring into space.”

“I come here sometimes when I’m on my break. Because you’re that step removed from the ward, you can sort of gather your thoughts a bit more.”

“Sometimes, especially night shift, you’ll find us all sleeping in here or in the computer room or playing pool, which I tend to do.”

“In the summer it’s just full of colours.”

“There’s very little noise, it’s peaceful. If it’s five, ten minutes, sometimes that five or ten minutes is enough to recharge you for the rest of the day.”

“I come here with my headphones and I meditate a little bit or just do some breathing exercises.”

“This is a special place. It’s a haven in the midst of painful realities.”

“We always try and have lunch together. In the summer we’ll come round here, we usually have deck chairs and we’ll sit here half an hour because that’s usually all we will take.”

“When I’m looking to unwind at the end of the day, I know that a quiet time is round about 5 o’clock, when everybody’s leaving their work or having to return to the wards. So that is a time I can potter about and unwind.”