The team on the Intensive Care Unit at Kettering General Hospital is working alongside Northamptonshire Health Charity, to raise funds, so that patients on the unit can have access to a peaceful and colourful outside area that will aid them with their rehabilitation.  The ICU in Kettering General, located in the Foundation Wing, has 14 inpatient beds with 2 beds for inpatient Dialysis. During the Pandemic this number was increased by 150% to provide ventilation care for those most poorly with Covid.

The average stay in the ICU for a patient is now around 21 days. As this is such a long time to spend on the ward, the majority of which is spent in a bed – and with very little exposure to natural daylight and fresh air – fundraising can enable some fantastic changes to be made.

It is great that visiting has resumed at the hospital but the very nature of the ICU means it is unsuitable for children to come on to the ward. Holly Worland, Healthcare Assistant said, “A peaceful garden area to take patients out to so they can enjoy the outdoors and spend some crucial time with their loved ones would provide massive benefits for their rehabilitation and for their mental health. We could incorporate patients seeing their younger children or grandchildren if it was suitable to do so but also their family pets, which are just as important to some patients as children are.”

The fundraising target is £5,000 which together with some existing charity funds will cover the work that is required to transform the area. From landscaping and fencing to plants, shrubs, and a beautiful mural for the outdoor wall.  “Charitable donations have a huge potential to completely transform aspects of the hospital environment to benefit patients and staff,” said Rob Powell, Charity Fundraiser. “This project will really make a huge difference for all those who spend time undergoing intensive therapy. It will also provide a real benefit to their loved ones who will be able to spend more quality time with them in lovely surroundings as they continue getting better ahead of being discharged.”

Holly added, “To prepare our patients for discharge, being able to differentiate between daytime and night-time is a key tool to being able to rehabilitate to life outside the hospital so we would love for them to begin benefiting from this newly developed garden this summer.”

A Patient Ambassador for the ICU Garden, Alison Bosworth, tells us her story:

“Having spent 7 weeks in the hospital, with 4 weeks on Intensive Care I almost crawled out of the Discharge Lounge just to be able to experience what it was like to breathe in the fresh air again. During my time in ICU, of which 4 days were spent in an induced coma and on a ventilator, when I did come round I was able to see the pocket park from my bed and it gave me hope to get better so I could go home and see my beloved Cherry Tree in my garden again.

The Physio team advised me to take things slowly and steadily so that I could recover in the best way possible but if I’d had had that opportunity to go outside for just a few moments, it would have meant the world to me. I’m a big lover of my garden space at home, and now I look to it as my sanctuary – which makes me feel passionate about assisting Holly and the ICU Garden Team to help bring a little bit of this sanctuary to other ICU patients to experience.”

All donations are much appreciated and can be made via the Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kghicugarden

There is also an opportunity to donate items such as plants or shrubs for the garden area. If you would like to make a donation of this kind, please contact Holly Worland via email h.worland@nhs.net