A new well-being garden is being created at the Royal United Hospital in Bath to offer peace and relaxation to its 5,000 staff members.
How the new garden at the hospital will look | Image © RUH
The new garden will help staff take time out from the pressures of a busy hospital and connect to the environment around them.
The project has been funded by the official hospital charity RUHX, supported by NHS Charities Together.
The Friends of the RUH have provided community volunteers to plant the new borders and maintain the gardens in the future.
Patients and visitors will also have access to the wellbeing garden, with plans to use ‘green prescribing’ which encourages people to spend time outdoors and connect with nature-based activities to help with a wide range of health problems.
Being in contact with a natural environment contributes to an improved sense of wellbeing, which can have a positive impact on peoples’ rehabilitation and help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Nickie Jakeman, ED Consultant, who has been the champion and driving force for the project, said: “We believe that we need to rekindle our connection with nature and the sense of wellbeing this provides, and to reinvigorate a sense of community with people and the planet around us.
“The RUH community wellbeing garden is an opportunity for us to work together to develop a food-producing landscape that sustains the environment and benefits the community.
“It will undoubtedly have a massively positive impact on our staff, patients and their families.”
The garden will include:
- A walkway which will provide an accessible and safe route to the entrance of the hospital for all to use away from traffic;
- Picnic furniture to create additional external dining space and provide benches to entice visitors to rest and connect to the tranquil environment around them;
- Vegetable and herb growing spaces offering an opportunity to get involved with gardening activities, growing food and learning about planting, growing, harvesting and composting;
- A range of wildflowers and plants that have been chosen for their aesthetic and multi-sensory qualities.
Work on the space started in early February and will be completed this spring.
