With the investment from its Corporate Social Responsibility Fund, NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has subsidised the construction of the therapeutic garden, Priory Day Hospital at Shields Health Hub, formerly known as Priory Day Hospital that is now open to the public.
The Priory Day Hospital
The new garden offers a place of sanctuary and activity for the community, including social prescribing services and a wide range of charities, allowing local people to create support networks and potentially reduce loneliness and improve mental health.
Funding provided by NHS Property Services facilitated the construction of the garden, implementing fundamental design concepts, including biophilic elements to foster a connection with nature and meditative and thematic graphics.
Ben Gammer, Senior Strategy Manager at NHSPS, said: "We are proud to champion a project that not only support social prescribing but also exemplifies the power of community-driven healthcare. With tangible impacts already resonating, this project showcases NHSPS’s commitment to excellent, greener healthcare and partnership-based initiatives".
Health Innovation North East North Cumbria (HI NENC) and North Shields Primary Care Network also contributed funding and resources for initiating the project, design, and engagement work.
Funding provided by NHS Property Services facilitated the construction of the garden
North Tyneside Art Studio also played a pivotal role in the design process and the integration of community artwork within the project.
The Garden at the Hub Community Association, VODA and North Tyneside Council's Public Health team have also provided funding, ideas, and support for the project's development.
The programme's engagement phase involved participatory activities, including a model garden used to capture feedback and prompt cards asking about what people would like to see, how they would like to feel, and what they would like to do in the garden.
Healthy Happy Places programme
The Priory Day Hospital at Shields Health Hub is part of the Healthy Happy Places programme, run by Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria (AHSN NENC), the academic health sciences network for the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) region.
The Healthy Happy Places programme focuses on creating and supporting good mental health and wellbeing through its connection with the built and designed environment in the North East and North Cumbria.
The programme embodies a partnership-based strategy, emphasising the creation of vibrant and supportive environments.
Healthy Happy Places is about ways we can use the built and natural environment to create better mental health and wellbeing in our communities
The project is the result of the collective engagement of:
- North Shields Primary Care Network
- NHS Property Services
- NHS Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust
- VODA charity, which provides advice and support to volunteers in communities
- North Tyneside Art Studio
- North Tyneside Council
- Health Innovation North East North Cumbria (HI NENC)
- North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB)
Dr Rachel Turnbull, Healthy Happy Places Programme Manager, said: "Healthy Happy Places is about ways we can use the built and natural environment to create better mental health and wellbeing in our communities, doing this through mixing and combining experiences from different sectors and communities."
"The garden has been a lovely way to show what we can achieve if we work together to turn unloved places into creative, joyful, soothing, calm spaces," Turnball said. "Thanks to everyone who has helped to make this happen, and particularly the volunteers who keep the garden blooming and blossoming in all weather! It has been a real team effort, and we hope that the garden will continue to grow and develop over the coming months and years."