Dedicated healing garden opens for critical care patients at Royal Cornwall Hospital
It's filled with sensory plants, outdoor hospital bed spaces, seating areas and a rehabilitation bridge
A new rehabilitation and sensory healing garden for critically ill patients has officially been opened at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro by leading explorer and founder of Survival International, Robin Hanbury-Tenison OBE.
The new Critical Care Healing Garden is located immediately below the Critical Care Unit at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
It has been filled with sensory plants, two outdoor hospital bed spaces, a rehabilitation bridge, seating areas for families, carers and staff, and bird sculptures made from Cornwall granite and bronze, donated by Cornish artist, Kurt Jackson.
The courtyard space is also one of the first therapeutic gardens in the country to have medical gases directly piped into a dedicated outdoor space. It aims to help patients experience the healing powers of nature.
The design, creation and installation of the Healing Garden has been funded entirely by charitable donation, greatly assisted by Robin Hanbury-Tenison and his wife, Louella’s fundraising campaign.
Robin, who lives in Cornwall, believes that the Healing Garden at University Hospitals Plymouth saved his life after he contracted Covid-19 and vowed to encourage all acute hospitals in the UK to create critical care gardens.
"My wife, Louella, and I are absolutely delighted to see this wonderful Critical Care Healing Garden officially opened.
"It’s been three years since we started on the journey to create this oasis of calm and tranquillity, and I hope that many critically ill patients here at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, together with their outstanding team of healthcare professionals and carers, will benefit from the healing and rehabilitation powers of the great outdoors for years to come.
"It has been a tremendous team effort and I want to thank all the RCHT staff and contractors who have been involved with the project, as well as the army of donors, supporters and volunteers whose generosity, knowledge and kindness have made it possible."
Kym Vigus, RCHT Critical Care Staff Nurse, has also long campaigned to create a Healing Garden at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
"This Critical Care Healing Garden is a huge asset to our unit. For clinical teams to be able to bring patients down to the courtyard to feel the fresh air and see the sky, to smell the plants and hear birdsong, is very special.
"It will generate incredibly positive experiences for our patients as part of their individual pathways to recovery."
The design for the Critical Care Healing Garden was created by local landscape design company, Lavigne Lonsdale, who were inspired to create a stunning yet practical garden following consultation with Critical Care Unit staff and ex-patients.
Cornish civil engineering contractor Cormac Ltd, together with South West Surfacing Specialists Ltd built the garden with local materials, whilst Cornwall-based gardeners, Alasdair Moore from Heligan, Charles Fox from Glendurgan and Mark Holman, the Palace Gardener, came together to design the planting scheme.
RCHT Project Manager, Rob Hague, has seen the garden through the construction and gas installation phases, after initial consultancy and cost advice was donated free of charge by Truro-based property and construction consultants, Ward Williams Associates.
Steve Williamson, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We’re excited to be amongst the first NHS Trusts in England to have enabled piped medical gases directly into our new Critical Care Healing Garden, as this will be so beneficial to our most vulnerable and sickest patients.
"To have such a beautifully-designed space at the heart of our hospital, which is also highly accessible and practical, even for the most critically ill patients, is superb.
"I want to thank everyone who has played a part in creating this very special place. I know our dedicated Critical Care team is very grateful and are looking forward to using the space to continue delivering outstanding care."
The entire project has also been filmed voluntarily by local filmmaker, Peter Champness, who is producing a local documentary for RCHT about the creation of the Critical Care Healing Garden.