Our next garden project is to install a major new garden adjacent to the Neuro-Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on the Atkinson Morley Wing of St. George’s Hospital.
A 2016 Kings Fund report “Gardens and health” concludes that “gardens are intimately connected to our health and wellbeing”, including for recovery from illness and in end-of-life care. Studies cited in this report conclude that “patients who had a view of nature from their hospital beds had shorter post-operative stays and less consumption of painkillers” and that “beautifully designed and maintained gardens .. accessible for patients in beds and wheelchairs … promote the wellbeing of patients … as well as their family and friends”.
“Last week I spent 4 days in Brodie Wing, Atkinson Morley Unit, St Georges following surgery for removal of a meningioma. I found life on the ward extremely noisy, bright, and exhausting thus was delighted when I discovered the roof garden. Whenever I could I took my blanket and lay on one of the recliners enjoying the beautiful flowers and appreciating the wonderfully designed garden. It brought me great joy at a time of great stress. Thank you for providing this for patients. It is a wonderful thing to have done in memory of John.”– Wendy Dutton (May 2019)
A 2020 report commissioned by The Health Foundation, “Space to Breathe” concludes that gardens have significant well-being benefits for NHS staff, by encouraging staff to relax and recharge in green space. This is supported by a plethora of studies that show conclusively that access to beautiful green spaces has lasting positive mental health benefits.
The Neuro ICU provides a tertiary referral neuroscience acute level of care with physiological monitoring, neurological supportive therapies and complex treatments that require a high staff-to-patient ratio from a highly-skilled, multi-professional team. This includes care of acutely unwell patients at risk of, or, following the development of, an acute neurological condition (including trauma, haemorrhage, stroke) and complex post-operative recovery.
The garden will be situated on the first floor of the Atkinson Morley Wing, immediately accessible from the Neuro ICU, to benefit the well-being and recovery of an estimated 7,000 patients, visitors, staff and therapists each year.
