Hospital garden to provide sanctuary for patients

A new hospital garden aims to provide a sanctuary for patients and staff according to the charity which helped to fund it.

The garden has been opened at Pilgrim Hospital, in Boston, after being created by United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The trust previously opened a garden at Lincoln County Hospital last May and also one at Grantham and District Hospital in August.

Jon Goodwin, head of grants at NHS Charities Together, said the garden cost about £50,000 to complete.

He said: "We're thrilled to see this wonderful garden open – just in time to see the spring bulbs still blooming.

"We know that getting outdoors in nature does wonders for both our physical and mental health, but we also know that this can be difficult for hospital patients and hard-working NHS staff.

"It's great that three hospitals across Lincolnshire, Grantham, Lincoln and Boston, now have green spaces like this, to be enjoyed by patients, staff and visitors alike."

The gardens have been jointly funded by NHS Charities Together and the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity, to provide extra support for patients and staff that are not available through NHS budgets.

Ben Petts, the charity's manager, added the outdoor spaces can help people have "space alone with your thoughts or precious moments with loved ones".

He said: "We all hope we will never need to visit hospital, but if we do – we all appreciate a small area of sanctuary where you can have space alone with your thoughts or precious moments with loved ones.

"A lot of thought and care has been put into these gardens by our contractors at SPA Landscaping and also by members of the working group.

"These areas really are going to make a massive difference for our patients, colleagues and visitors."

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