A kind-hearted hospital worker is sharing his artistic skills for the benefit of Bradford patients.
Maintenance Assistant, Richard Taylorson, who is employed by Bradford Teaching Hospitals’ NHS Foundation Trust, has been showcasing his fantastic talents and artistic abilities with a series of murals at St Luke’s Hospital and Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI).
Commissioned by Estates and Facilities Managers, Darren Lewis and Paul Noble, Richard, who’s worked for the Trust for 13 years, has been spending time brightening up various locations across both sites.
His most recent artwork was completed on October 12 and features a blossom tree on the wall of the main entrance at the BRI.
Richard said that he had been overwhelmed by the positive response to his artworks, adding:
Being self-taught, my inspirations come from what art I see around me, and from learning new ideas.
It is great to know that people enjoy the artworks I create. One thing I hear regularly is it has more impact than a basic photograph, which makes me happy as patients and colleagues appreciate the emotions through each brush stroke.
I get many compliments from my artworks, which is most appreciated. Painting murals for the hospital is more rewarding than I thought. It has been mentioned by many patients and visitors that my paintings are refreshing and striking to look at. One patient even stated she enjoyed watching me paint it and seeing how the painting progressed over the day, as she passed by from the wards for her walks.
In the summer, Richard brought colour to the Trust’s adult outpatients department (AOPD) quiet room and the orthodontic department patient waiting area which are both located at St Luke’s Hospital.
AOPD Senior Sister, Charlotte Ward, said:
Richard came to AOPD to help us with the creation of a quiet room for our patients and their loved ones who have received bad news.
It was important that the design and colours created a feeling of tranquillity so Richard and I had a few discussions about how we could achieve this and then he set to work.
What followed absolutely stunned all the AOPD team, as well as patients, who now stop to look at his incredible work; the beautiful meadow scene which he perfectly named ‘Serenity’.
Thanks to Richard’s amazing talent we now have a supportive space which will undoubtedly improve the patient experience and cancer care offered in AOPD, helping make a very difficult situation that bit easier.
While Helen O’Connor, Department Manager for our Maxillofacial, Orthodontics and Restorative Dentistry team, based in the basement of the Horton Wing, concluded:
Previously our waiting areas were very plain and our patients were sat looking at dark, grey walls. We wanted to introduce some colour so our patients could feel uplifted when they came for appointments.
I heard about Richard’s talents through his manager, Darren Lewis, and thankfully Richard agreed to take us on as a project. The result is brilliant. Richard is so talented and works free hand. As patients come into the department, at reception they see a lovely ‘welcome’ as our maxillofacial unit waiting room now has a sea view ‘through the window’ theme, patients often comment on how lovely it is and that they feel reminded of their holidays.
Our Orthodontic waiting room has a ‘graffiti’ theme with flowers, landscape and a huge smile. Richard even painted some tiny characters for children to look for whilst waiting for their appointment, its brilliant!
We are very grateful to Richard and how he has transformed our waiting areas, improving the patient experience and our staff wellbeing – we all love it.
