Sensing Spaces of Healthcare

I remember… My husband was in hospital for 6 months, the food was good – he liked it very much, particularly their lasagne. The staff were wonderful. As a visitor I also remember the smell of the food – delicious! I would walk up the corridor and know they’d had their lunch.

I remember… I had an adenoid operation to remove them in London – Christmas Day, 1949 – I remember the smell of chloroform! I was only 6 years old. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, it was actually quite refreshing though the mask was scary.

I remember… The smell of coffee on the breath of my exhausted family members who took it in turns to visit me or stay with me overnight.

I remember… I was 2 … the cot next door threw their nappy into my cot. It didn’t smell though!

I remember… I like the smell of lavender, my perfume Charlie, and my favourite food is jacket potato with cheese & beans

I remember regular meals – the smell of horlicks! Constant noise all day, but no piped music! The feeling of safety and security with many staff, able to chat to you on odd occasions.

I remember… The smells mainly … cleanliness, cleaning products … The way the staff tried to calm people, very supportive, the way they talked and behaved, caring body language as well as professional, to the whole family (as a visitor to someone who was dying).

I remember… Antiseptic smell, voices, difference in lighting, some people rushing around, some more relaxed, telephones, equipment sounds

I remember… Goosebumps on my arms as cool sterile air blew past me. Curiosity matched with anxiety as I rush down endless angular corridors. Smells like stale bleach. People are either nice or miserable.

I remember… When my baby son was very ill in Spring 2020 I have a keen sensory memory of the mixed smell of bleach and baked potatoes that they brought me every evening (no other vegetarians on the ward!). To begin with this was a smell of worry and stress, but as he recovered it became a smell of hope. I remember finally bringing him home and bringing the smell back with him and feeling our lives restart properly.

I remember… The incessant beeping of monitors. Telephones at the nurses’ desk ringing constantly. The unpleasant smell of breakfast wafting in from the HDU. A lone 1980s copy of ‘Pâtés and Terrines’ in the family room, nothing else to read. The atmosphere mixed with the smell of disinfectant and burnt toast.

I remember… Waiting to hear the results of my partner’s breast cancer test … exploring the free lending library in the lobby of the hospital. The smell of well-loved books in this little alcove for a few minutes comforted me by taking over the usual hospital smells. I dropped a pound coin into the donation slot, then took with me a hefty paperback of Margaret Atwood’s Oryx & Crake. The test was good news, so now that book is too.