Sheffield Hospitals Charity have supported the major refurbishment of Maple Ward, which reopened this week, at Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust through a £415,000 grant.
Maple Ward, which provides important assessment and treatment for people experiencing a wide range of mental health needs was closed in June 2024 in preparation for the new scheme and is the last of 4 in-patient acute wards to be refurbished.
The ward now offers a modern, therapeutic environment designed to enhance comfort, safety and wellbeing for people receiving mental health care.
The full transformation of Maple Ward is part of the Trust’s wider programme to modernise all adult acute inpatient areas.
In addition to the significant improvements made across the ward, Sheffield Hospitals Charity has funded autism-friendly bedrooms that have been specifically adapted to create a calm, supportive environment for autistic service users. Features include controllable RGB lighting, silent alarms, quiet-closing doors, additional soundproofing, and bright carpeted flooring.
The charity has also enabled the installation of screens in private bedrooms, communal areas and therapeutic spaces so that service users can access features that enhance comfort, promote healing and positive engagement.
There are now modern communal areas that consist of a bright open-plan dining room, a spacious lounge, and a therapeutic outdoor garden with sensory plants and resin flooring. The ward is adorned with artwork and collage pieces made during charity funded creative sessions with service users in the ward and the community to add colour and relieve stress.
Adele Sabin, Head of the Therapeutic Environments Programme Team, said:
“We have been working on this project for over a year, so it is a real pleasure to share the results of the hard work of so many teams with the people it will make a difference to.
“I want to say a big thank you to everyone who came together to ensure we built an environment that is high quality and where care can be provided in a safe, compassionate and dignified way, helping our service users to get better more quickly.”
Beth Crackles, CEO of Sheffield Hospitals Charity, said:
“We’re proud that our funding has helped transform important elements of Maple Ward into spaces that truly meet the needs of the people who use them. By supporting autism-friendly design and sensory-led environments, our donors have made it possible to create a ward that feels calmer, safer and more dignified for service users. This project shows the real impact charitable giving can have in enhancing NHS care and creating environments that support recovery and wellbeing.”
Published: Wednesday 10th of December 2025