Wudumate Ablution Facility at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust is the principal provider of acute care in Cornwall. It serves a population of around 430,000 people, a figure which is greatly increased by holidaymakers during the summer months.
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust employs approximately 5,000 staff with a mix of ethnicities and is committed to providing the best possible facilities in order to attract and retain its highly skilled teams of doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
A facility valued by the Trust’s Muslim staff is the purpose built WuduMate ablution facility provided by the Chaplaincy. It was specifically designed to enable Muslims to undertake their Wudu washing ritual before prayer in a safe, comfortable and dignified environment.
Before installation of the WuduMate, the only facilities for washing were inadequate and not considered suitable by the Trust for its staff.
The WuduMate ablution facility is available for all to use, including visitors and patients, although has predominantly been used by staff.
The Trust’s Lead Chaplain Reverend Mark Richards was delighted with the feedback he received. “With the addition of the WuduMate we can now offer 21st Century facilities for one and all. We have received a positive reaction from everyone concerned. Undoubtedly the facility is a tremendous enhancement to the spiritual centre of the Trust” he said at the time.
A Muslim doctor expressed his gratitude to the Trust for providing the WuduMate and the local MP until 2019, Sarah Newton, was also impressed. She said “It’s important that we recognise the ethnic mix of the population…and the multi-faith facility in the Royal Cornwall demonstrates excellently how appropriate facilities can easily be provided.”
Visit website: www.rcht.nhs.uk
“I didn’t always have a mineral water bottle to hand when I wanted to wash, and taking cups of water into a toilet is not always practical, so the WuduMate is ideal. It can be easily carried in your pocket or handbag, can hold a litre of water which is far more than the small water bottles which we normally use, and after use can be easily folded away again for use next time.”
