Sheffield MP sees role of hospital garden in spinal injury recovery
Gill Furniss MP toured Horatio’s Garden at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital to learn how the outdoor space is easing recovery for spinal injury patients, their families and NHS staff.
A garden supporting people recovering from life-changing spinal injuries at The Northern General Hospital has been named a beacon of hope and support.
MP for Brightside and Hillsborough Gill Furniss visited Horatio’s Garden Sheffield & East this week. She witnessed at first hand how it gives patients space away from the clinical environment as part of daily life and rehabilitation. The garden is also enjoyed by patients’ families, other visitors and NHS staff.
Mrs Furniss said: “Horatio's Garden should be help up as a beacon of what a garden can achieve as part of NHS rehabilitation. What it shows is a decrease in loneliness, increase in families visiting and a direct impact on mental health for patients and their families. Not only that, but it supports fast rehabilitation and staff retention in the NHS.”
Horatio’s Garden creates and runs vibrant gardens at NHS spinal rehabilitation centres, offering places where people affected by spinal injury can find connection, enjoyment and calm away from a clinical setting.
CEO Katie Tait said: “We were delighted to welcome Gill Furniss MP to Horatio’s Garden and share the difference the garden makes every day. We hope her visit helps build wider recognition that gardens should be an integral part of healthcare.”
Horatio’s Garden Sheffield & East opened last year as the organisation’s eighth garden in the UK. A ninth is under construction in Middlesbrough.
The organisation’s mission is to establish a garden at all 11 NHS spinal injury centres, giving people facing a life-changing injury or long hospital stay access to such a space.