Intrapreneurs Lisa Stanulis & Gail Richmond, Beatson Cancer Care Charity, BeCalm
Lisa and Gail share a common trait with many Lens Intrapreneurs: for them the little things matter. Both of them were convinced about the potential power of meditation for the patients they support at Beatson Cancer Care Charity. They worked together through The Lens Shared Intrapreneurship Programme to develop BeCalm.
This project provided personal access to guided meditation and relaxation music that would help patients to cope better with stays in hospital and enable them to take home their own relaxation toolkit.
Their idea was simple and practical. The details mattered to them and each component of their project was handled with care; personally sourcing the music while testing and pre-loading 500 MP3 players with the support of volunteers so that all patients could take home that ‘BeCalm’ level of care. The Lens provided them with the space to work through their ideas with a focus on what mattered to their patients.
The feedback they received has been brilliant and they continue to look to develop BeCalm further:
This wee gift for me has been wonderful… I have been a patient {for many months} and have trouble with my sleep. This all changed the night Lisa gave me my gift. I switched on, listened, relaxed then had my first proper sleep. I can’t thank you enough.
Beatson Cancer Care Charity now offer MP3 players with specially chosen guided meditation and relaxation music that helps patients going through chemotherapy cope better with their hospital stays. One patient told them,
I switched on, listened, relaxed and then had my first proper sleep. I can’t thank you enough.
Gail and Lisa are continuing to lead on this work and taking it even further...Beatson are now part of a pilot with NHS psychologists called the Anticipatory Nausea Project, where patients are given a tool kit aimed at the 5 senses to reduce their nausea symptoms. BeCalm has been included in the sound aspect, with fantastic feedback so far.