St John’s Hospice has told Building Better Healthcare that it has plans to refurbish its new Wellbeing Centre’s garden and to adapt the garden at the front of its Inpatient Unit (IPU).
For these projects, St John’s Hospice has appointed Trendy Landscapes for the hardscaping of the gardens.
North London Head Gardeners are designing and planting the flowers and herbs in the gardens.
Both the gardens will be reopened in line with St John’s Hospice 40th anniversary celebrations in June.
It comes as St John’s Hospice recently opened its new Wellbeing Centre.
St John’s Hospice's vision for the gardens
The plans for the gardens have been made with the patients' needs in mind with the aim of the gardens being to create “a safe, tranquil, and enjoyable outdoor space for patients, their families, and caregivers,” according to a St John’s Hospice spokesperson.
“Research shows the fantastic impact that being in an outdoor space can have on the wellbeing and quality of life of people living with life-limiting and chronic illnesses. Yet, a large proportion of our patients do not have access to an outdoor space at home,” the spokesperson said.
“We believe [the gardens] will help improve their mood and sleep, reduce anxiety, and promote a feeling of calm and tranquillity. It will also introduce a new space for them to enjoy spending time together outside of the traditional clinical setting,” they added.
The Wellbeing Centre’s garden
The Wellbeing Centre’s new garden will be made fully accessible with widened and repaved pathways complete with a new ramp, “ensuring that, for the first time, each patient will be able to enjoy it,” the spokesperson told Building Better Healthcare.
The Wellbeing Centre’s garden will also feature designated areas for seating and areas for outdoor therapies, as well as the introduction of raised beds.
Further, St John’s Hospice plans to introduce a programme of new patient activities, including garden therapy and outdoor movement sessions in the new Wellbeing Centre’s garden.
Wellbeing Centre Garden plans layout
St John’s Hospice Inpatient Unit garden
St John’s Hospice is adapting its Chelsea Flower Show award-winning garden at the front of the Inpatient Unit.
The project includes expanding the garden’s pathways to accommodate beds and wheelchairs to enable more people to enjoy the garden comfortably.
The family-owned landscaping company has already completed the hard landscaping on this smaller garden.
IPU garden plans layout
Sue Hutton, Assistant Director of Nursing at St John’s Hospice, said: ”The new gardens will be a fantastic addition to the hospice. We will have outdoor spaces which properly cater to the increasingly diverse needs of our patients, and we will be able to offer new outdoor activities and therapies which we know will be of great benefit to both their physical and mental health.”
Both gardens will be fully accessible meaning for the first time all patients who wish to enjoy them can do so,” Hutton continued.
“The plants and flowers we've chosen will also create a year-round sensory haven and will help attract more wildlife to the garden,” Hutton explained.
While we've finished the hard landscaping on the smaller garden (IPU), the design and planting stages are still ongoing for the larger area
“The new gardens will undoubtedly be tranquil spaces which will enhance the wellbeing of not only our patients and their families but also our staff. We are all very excited for their opening in June in line with our 40th Birthday celebrations,” Hutton concluded.
Marc Sontag, Director of Trendy Landscapes, said: “While we've finished the hard landscaping on the smaller garden (IPU), the design and planting stages are still ongoing for the larger area.”
The transformative renovations to both gardens have been funded through generous donations from St John’s Hospice donor community.
Image credits: St John's Hospice