James Dyson Donates £4 Million to Bath Hospital

After revolutionising the vacuum cleaner and the hand dryer - Sir James Dyson has set his sights on improving health care in hospitals.

The 66 year old inventor and entrepreneur, who helped revamp a neonatal ward at the Royal United Hospital in Bath was delighted to hear of the positive influence his design had, had on patients.

Sir James’ design of the neonatal unit aimed to reduce stress among nurses, babies and their families by providing a relaxing, caring and natural environment.

Doctors discovered that the care of patients improved greatly after the amount of natural light in wards was increased and background noise from hospital machinery was reduced.

The hospital’s consultant pediatrician Dr Bernie Marden had this to say: “We have found that the design of the building is leading to better fed and better rested babies, contributing to their recuperation.”

The unit which is built from wood and designed to provide a less stressful environment for patients and families, saw a 90 per cent rise in the number of mothers who were breastfeeding by the time they left the hospital and even improved the sleeping patterns of newborn babies.

Following the success of the neonatal unit, Sir James, is donating £4 million towards the construction of a new cancer centre at the hospital.  

It is hoped the centre will produce similar benefits for patients and be designed with similar principles in mind.

When the new unit is launched, cancer patients will be given rooms on the upper floors of the hospital with views looking out across the surrounding countryside.

Sir James commented "With the right sort of architecture and the right environment for patients and guests, what we proved with the neonatal clinic is that there is real clinical improvement."