By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
A revamped garden at a palliative care unit in Nottingham has now become more accessible to patients and families after a successful fundraising appeal.
Hayward House Palliative Care Unit at Nottingham City Hospital opened its renovated garden yesterday (September 10), with the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Councillor Carole McCulloch cutting the ribbon.
New pathways have been created to make the space more accessible for visitors and patients in wheelchairs and beds, helping patients to get outdoors and away from the hospital environment.
Before the changes people with reduced mobility were unable to use it due to uneven ground and steps.
The project was funded by the Hayward House Appeal, which was launched by Nottingham Hospitals Charity in 2022, and runs up until spring 2025, aiming to raise £1.5 million.
Staff at the unit say ability for patients and their families to have access to fresh air and a natural space is vital to their care and overall wellbeing.
Sarah Radcliffe, Head of Service for Palliative Care and Lead nurse for Palliative and End of Life at Nottingham Hospitals, said: “Allowing people to come out here and have some time together, that’s not clinical, allows them resetting.
“You see a lightness and a relaxed feeling for patients and the families.
“The end of last week we had our first patient out here in their bed with their family sat with them, they felt they were sat out in their own garden.
“There’s nowhere that can give that sense of feeling of space and togetherness, it doesn’t matter what medication or drugs I give that patient, that’s going to make the biggest difference, being out here and together.”
Colette Farley’s mother, Angela, was a patient at Hayward House and had Pulmonary Fibrosis. She died in November 2021.
September marks Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness month. The condition affects the lungs, which become scarred and damaged over time.
The condition has a range of possible causes, including long-term exposure to certain toxins and certain medical conditions. In some cases, the cause of pulmonary fibrosis is not known.
Angela stayed at the unit twice, but was not able to use the garden space at the time.
Colette said: “In May the gardens were in full bloom, I just thought ‘this is so beautiful’- I had no idea this lovely little oasis was here.
“Unfortunately the way [the garden] was designed just wouldn’t permit it, you couldn’t get out in a chair, you couldn’t get out in a bed.
“That’s the one thing I would have really loved for my mum, to be able to come out in her final weeks and think about how beautiful the garden is – I think that would have given her a lot of peace and enjoyment to be surrounded by nature.”
Colette believes open spaces for end-of-life care need to be made more accessible but services are reliant on fundraising.
She added: “It’s the memories that are left with the families afterwards, was it a good and peaceful death? Were they in peaceful surroundings? could you as a family all be with them?
“These [places] are dependent on raising funds and to keep raising funds to keep the service improving so that everybody has this opportunity at end of life.”
Nigel Gregory, Chief Executive of Nottingham Hospitals Charity, say natural spaces not only benefit patients but families and staff too.
He said: “Families need a space to unwind, to have discussions, to talk about the future and perhaps linger on the past, and it’s a really important place to do that and when you can do that in a relaxing environment it makes the world of difference.
“Staff can come out here and take a breath of fresh air in fantastic surroundings, that has an impact on their mental wellbeing.”
So far, more than £1 million has been raised through money donated by the local community.
Hayward House provides specialist care to more than 1,000 terminally ill patients each year.
The updated garden was part of the first phase of the appeal, with the next phases aiming to renovate the entrance and reception area of the facility, fund more nurse posts and a specialist palliative care counselling team, and aid research.
