Beyond Hospital Walls: Green Spaces, Healing Places

Make Space For Nature

Green Health Week spotlights NHS Ayrshire and Arran's pioneering approach to transforming hospital grounds into therapeutic spaces for patients, staff, and the wider community.

Public Health Programme Lead Elaine Caldow shares the journey from a small demonstration project to a comprehensive approach that treats nature as medicine. Assistant Director of Estates and Support Services Helen Gemmell reveals how initial management concerns about risk have evolved into widespread staff enthusiasm for these restorative environments.

We visit the Kyle Chemotherapy Unit with Deputy Charge Nurse Wendy Ruiz de Pascal to see how the garden spaces are supporting patients during treatment, and discover The Conservation Volunteers' innovative 'green gyms', Acorn Garden, and guided nature walks with Lindsay Twilley.

This episode showcases Scotland's pioneering integration of nature into healthcare settings—creating spaces for calm, hope and healing while simultaneously advancing sustainability goals and demonstrating that when hospitals make space for nature, remarkable healing happens.

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1. Introduction to Green Health Week (00:00:00)

2. NHS Green Space Journey (00:01:15)

3. Changing Mindsets About Hospital Grounds (00:05:05)

4. Kyle Chemotherapy Garden Development (00:17:00)

5. TCV's Green Health Initiatives (00:22:55)

6. Breaking Barriers to Nature Access (00:27:38)