Kirman Design to design NHS Sensory Garden

Kirman Design has been chosen to design a new sensory garden for the NHS at  Goosenargh, Preston. It is intended to provide tranquillity and stimulation for the patients, carers and staff at Frank Gardham House.

Frank Gardham House is Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust’s specialist unit for the care of people with Huntington’s Disease. It is based at Guild Park in Whittingham and is one of the only NHS units in the country that is totally dedicated to the care of people over the age of eighteen with the disease.

This exciting development is thanks to an inititative by the King’s Fund to improve the environment for people using NHS services. The Department of Health have invested £1 million into the programme which will be shared amongst the 19 NHS trusts and one prison that have been succesful in securing the funding.

Each project has to physically improve an area used by patients and relatives and must be run by a nurse-led, multi-disciplinary team. An integral part of the project planning will be the involvement of patients and relatives. Each team will have an intitial budget of £40,000 to undertake their project and each team member will receive a place on a King's Fund programme to develop their leadership skills and give them the practical knowledge they will need to make their project a success.

Chief Executive of Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “The trust is committed to making people’s experinces of services as positive as possible and we are delighted to have been chosen to take part in this excellent initiative.

“There is evidence to suggest that creating a therapuetic environment helps people’s recovery, which is why the trust is dedicated to improving the environments in which we deliver care. I am pleased to say that the trust has previously taken part in Kings Fund projects all of which have been a great success and I am sure that this will be too.”

King’s Fund Chief Executive Niall Dickson said: “We know that improving the environment in which people are cared for can make a huge difference to how they feel. We are confident that this scheme will not only improve facilities at 20 new sites across the country, but will also have a positive impact on the staff who take part and the patients who receive their care.”

It is expected that the building of the garden will take place in Spring/Summer 2009.