Therapeutic Garden Design
Grenville Ward Courtyard, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, Cornwall
The Sensory Trust have been working closely with the enthusiastic team
in Grenville Ward at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, Cornwall to develop
a sensory rich therapeutic garden for the ward which cares for elderly
post-operative patients.
The ward is at present accommodated in two single story temporary buildings
with a bleak gravel courtyard between them. This at present provides the
nearest place which staff can use for an informal break. There is no access
to outdoor space for patients or their visitors to use. Since the ward,
although temporary, could be in place for up to 10 years, the plan is
to develop a design which would stand the test of that duration but might
be removable / re-useable at the end of this time.
The design process began with a series of consultative exercises with
the ward staff, patients and their visitors, together with other key professionals
within the wider hospital community such as Site Services, Physiotherapy
and Occupational Therapy.
This process involved literary and reminiscence workshops linked to ‘garden’
themes. It also included questionnaires and meetings to build up an initial
brief describing the essential and preferred functional aspects and qualities
of the garden space. For instance:
- Which aspects of their clinical/care program ward staff would
wish to accommodate in the courtyard space outside their buildings,
e.g. individual or small group sessions with patients for relaxation
and possible therapeutic rehabilitation work.
- How could the area best serve the needs of visitors of patients?
- How could the space best function as an amenity for the staff
themselves, e.g. lunch in good weather, and if so, would they
like the option to be separate from the clients and their visitors?
- What aspects of the space would be supportive of this range
of activities, e.g. sensory qualities, subdivision into different
spaces?
- How the staff would like to see the boundaries of the space
around the buildings developed; is privacy an issue? Are views
from the windows important?
With this information the team drew up schematic proposals for the outline
design of the space, to support project funding, inspire project support
and build in opportunities for further personalisation of the space.
Once these proposals received approval from within the community of the
ward itself and the wider approval of the Hospital Trust, the Sensory
Trust produced a design and development program and budget. This included
workshop collaboration with an artist / maker to continue the collaborative
working practice with the ward community and to enrich the proposals.
Through the tireless efforts of Maggie Trevethan and Sara Norrish at
the Ward, funding has finally been secured and in November the Duchy of
Cornwall Nurseries became a project sponsor and donated a tree for the
symbolic starting of the project on site.
Why did we embark on the project?
The consultation and design work which we undertake in health sector
environments allows us to focus in detail on the healing/ therapeutic
qualities of place making, which we can translate to examples in wider
public landscapes.
The project staff and partners at the RCHT have an integrated approach
to the subject which encompassed other aspects of the hospital environment
and displayed an inclusive view of this work as part of the wider health
arts brief.
What specific things did we want to achieve?
Besides achieving an improved environment for the staff, patients and
visitors to Grenville Ward, we hoped that three other significant benefits
would result from the project:
1. The project would lend force to the argument for wider adoption of
these principles across the hospital campus in a strategic plan of investment.
2. Links could be built with the Peninsula Medical School Teaching Hospital
to monitor both the existing situation and the new scheme in terms of
any data evidencing beneficial effects on the project users.
3 To achieve an integrated design solution, arising from the input of
both health and design professionals, patients and crafts persons.
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