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14.
December
2017.
The Curve’s new therapy rooms are open for business

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14 December 2017

The Curve's new therapy rooms are open for business

For immediate publication

The finishing touches have been applied to CNWL's new therapy rooms at The Curve for people affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Based on the second floor of The Curve, in Bard Road, the redesign of the suite of rooms has been overseen by CNWL's Head of Patient Environment, Dr Nick Rhodes, and the design team of The Nightingale Project.

The build was paid for by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, who have leased the space to CNWL at no charge.

The waiting area features a set of semi-abstract water-themed pictures by London artist Christopher Corr. The pictures are predominantly blue, to create a cooling and calming effect, which was seen as particularly relevant in the Grenfell context.

At one end of the waiting room there is also a large reproduction of a painting by the late Howard Hodgkin, originally created for the London Olympics in 2012. Permission was granted by Sir Howard's estate to reproduce this image for The Curve.

The therapy rooms feature images by Christopher Corr - paintings created in Portobello Road and Notting Hill.

Some Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service users were asked about these images and told the team they liked that they show familiar local places and reflect the diversity of the local community.

The aim was to bring colour into the therapy rooms, which might otherwise be rather stark, while also reflecting the vitality of the streets, shops and market stalls in the area.

"We are also working on a project which will bring some additional work by local children into the building, to add to the pictures we have hung" said Dr Rhodes.

"But for this phase, we wanted the rooms to be fully ready as soon as possible, so we managed to turn it around quickly. I hope the fresh, calm and welcoming atmosphere will assist people to feel welcomed into the space and feel comfortable using the service."

Dr Rhodes runs art projects across the Trust to improve the patient environment, and raises money into The Nightingale Project (part of the CNWL Charitable Fund) to support this work. See www.nightingaleproject.org.

The Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service is a free and confidential NHS service for children and adults who were affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

People can self-refer to the service by clicking on: https://take-time-to-talk.com/grenfell-self-referral-form/.

Editors' notes

The attached photos show Dr Nick Rhodes in the therapy space as well as a photo of the space 

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Stephenson House, 75 Hampstead Road, London NW1 2PL
Tel: 020 3214 5756 e-mail:
communications.cnwl@nhs.net