A new rehabilitation garden has officially opened at Chapel Allerton Hospital, with a special celebration held by staff who invited current and former patients and their families. 

The garden is benefitting patients living with complex rehabilitation needs and has been made possible thanks to Leeds Hospitals Charity, who received a £200,000 grant from NHS Charities Together as part of their Greener Communities Fund, delivered in partnership with environmental charity Hubbub and Starbucks.

Before this investment, the outdoor courtyard area had not been modernised since 1994 and was unsuitable for patients and their families to use, leaving them with no space outside the ward environment.

The clinical team recognised that many of their patients, who have experienced a life-changing illness struggle with emotional stress and loss of function to complete day to day tasks.

Harriet Garnett, Occupational Therapist at Chapel Allerton Hospital says:

“Patients with complex rehabilitation can spend months in a busy, noisy and impersonal hospital space. When I take patients out into the garden, it not only gives them a peaceful break from this, but also offers accessible planting areas and greenhouse for people engaging in horticultural therapy.

“We offer patients one to one as well as group nature based growing tasks to support their well-being, but they are also consolidating skills for occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. It's rehab within real every day activity. The magic is forgetting you're in hospital.”

Every year, around 500 people will benefit from the garden which gives patients the chance to reconnect with nature as part of their journey to recovery. The garden also gives patients the opportunity to participate in horticultural therapy with will help improve patients’ motor, cognitive and communication skills.

The therapy can be done individually or as part of a group, promoting social skills and reducing isolation. This therapy plays an important role in rehabilitation as it allows patients to support hand function, balance and mobility and tasks are tailored to the needs of individuals, helping with reading, attention and memory.

In collaboration with Hyde Park Source, a Woodland trail has been created, providing an accessible space for patients, helping with societal reintegration, supporting movement and planning to be discharged from hospital.

One of the patients who has benefitted from the rehabilitation is 22-year-old Rose Hickman from Morley, who had a life-threatening bleed on the brain whilst working at her family restaurant, Kasa Rosa.

Rose had lost all feeling and movement down the left side of her body, leaving her unable complete day-to-day tasks, like holding a pen or using a knife and fork.

Rose had never taken much of an interest in gardening before, but when her occupational therapist suggested getting out into the rehabilitation garden to take part in horticultural therapy, Rose thought she would give it a go.

“At first, I couldn’t hold the trowel without someone else helping - I was getting soil all over the place, but each week I could see the progress I was making, and after four weeks I was so proud of myself when I could use the garden tools independently. I never realised how much digging holes to plant seeds would help my brain recover my movement.

“When you haven’t been able to do anything for yourself, or anyone else for so long, you want to feel like you can do something useful, so having the gardening tasks helped give me a sense of purpose. When my friends and family came to visit, they could see how much happier I was in the garden, they could see my progress and even get involved too - I could see how it made their day.”

Just two months later, Rose was discharged from hospital and reunited with her mum, dad, and younger sister Willow back at the family home and plans on continuing to practice her newfound love for gardening.

Rose will continue to visit the hospital regularly as part of her journey to recovery and her biggest aspiration is to get back to working in the restaurant which she sees as a second home.

Rebecca Baldaro-Booth, Director of Grants and Impact at Leeds Hospitals charity, said:

“We are committed to funding projects that have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of patients and staff. This project is a fantastic example of how donations are enabling us to have a transformative impact on patient experience.

“Now patients who can spend weeks or even months in hospital have access to a green space, which not only benefits patient recovery, it also offers a quiet space away from the ward that can be enjoyed by patients, their families and staff.”