Hospital selected for national green spaces project

A hospital has been selected to be part of a hospital green spaces project.

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) selected Dorset County Hospital to be part of the national Healthy by Nature project, which will deliver green space activities for patients, staff and visitors at nine hospitals.

The project is funded by the National Lottery Community fund, and will mean a Nature Recovery Ranger will be based at DCH to deliver the activities with local community groups.

Jo Howarth, director of nursing at DCH, said she was "delighted" the hospital had been chosen.

"We are passionate about restoring and improving our green spaces, as we know that spending time outdoors with nature can have a positive impact on people's physical and mental health, and aid patient recovery," she said.

She said it would help the hospital build on the work it had already done, which included a staff gardening club and plans for a new sensory garden.

The project is being led by CSH's Green Space for Health team, which also manages the NHS Forest project, which has planted more than 133,000 trees across hundreds of NHS sites.

"Our pilot project showed that bringing nature and healthcare together creates remarkable benefits for everyone involved," said Liz Rees, green space director at the CSH.

The project will begin running activities in June 2025.

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