East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has held a virtual opening ceremony for a new ‘Garden of Memories’ on the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital site.
The Garden has been developed as a safe place for reflection, mindfulness, ‘time-out’, conversation and remembrance for patients, relatives, carers and staff, and was created with support and donations from local organisations, through the Trust’s official charity, ELHT&Me.
“It’s especially important during these challenging times to have a place to take “time out” and relax, in a beautiful environment”, said Executive Director of Nursing, Christine Pearson.
“I’m delighted that we could open the Garden and celebrate the hard work that has gone in to making it a reality. There is significant research that shows that the natural environment of a garden space is beneficial to physical wellbeing, health, recovery, mental and emotional wellbeing, and we hope that creating this garden will achieve these outcomes for our staff, our patients and our community.”
“The current circumstances have meant that we are unable to open the Garden in a traditional way, however we have put together a virtual tour which we hope will give a preview of the area whilst the visiting restrictions on our hospital sites remain in place.”
The Garden has been custom-designed to honour those who have passed away, as well as comfort their family and friends, including specific plants chosen for sensory reasons, planters for therapeutic gardening, and a ‘Memory Wall’. Butterflies, provided by staff in the Spiritual Care and Bereavement Teams, can be used to share a message about a loved one – one half to be displayed on the wall, the other half to be taken as a keepsake for the family member or friend.
The Garden was funded through donations gifted to the Trust’s official charity, ELHT&Me. Donors included Engie, Prosol, Piggot and Whitfield, Wood Integrated Building Services, Marland Electricals, Thorne, IHP and Pendle Signs, who contributed time and/or materials for the Garden. Financial donations were received by HCP, Turners, D&G Builders, Medi Teknique Ltd, Brooktherm Refrigeration Ltd, Quartz and Bannister Hall.
Denise Gee, Fundraising Manager for ELHT&Me, said: “This is a great example of how charitable donations can make a real difference to our hospital environment, and we’re so proud of the outcome.”
“We would like to extend our thanks to the donors on behalf of the Trust and those who will use the Garden of Memories for years to come – your support is appreciated and will go a long way for those in East Lancashire who have lost a loved one.”