The gardening day was organised by Carly Eager, Senior Occupational Therapist, and the OT team. The aim was for service users and staff to work together to make improvements to some of the outdoor areas at the hospital.
Together the team worked on two of the ward gardens, the hospital entrance and some areas of the car park. Brightly coloured plants, flowers and even coloured sand were positioned in flower beds and pots to give the hospital a new and fresh feel. Staff from various departments including social work, psychology, nursing and admin joined the event and worked together with the service users.
Gardening is a popular occupation for people with physical or mental illness. It provides opportunity to become creative, work with others, develop new skills whilst learning ways to problem solve and improve physical fitness. Gardening is proven to relieve stress and boost the immune system function while enabling people to be more productive with their time. It can also promote further opportunities for vocational roles and hobbies.
“The hard work from the staff and service users paid off today and the ward gardens and hospital grounds look lovely. We would like to thank everyone who joined in for their hard work and efforts, especially Raf (Maintenance) who helped to prepare and support the event.”Amy Gibson, Occupational Therapist