Neurological physiotherapists at a hospital in Guernsey are helping to set up a ‘therapy garden’ and a gardening group for long-term rehab patients.
Left to right: Mike Marshall, from local charity Only Fools and Donkeys, physio assistant Francesca McLuskey and Michelle Green, neuro physio team lead
The initiative, at Princess Elizabeth Hospital, St Martins, involves a team of four neuro physios, four physio assistants and occupational therapy staff.
It aims to promote the recovery of neurologically-impaired patients on the hospital’s Le Marchant ward by encouraging them to grow and nurture plants and vegetables.
The therapy garden officially opened in July and the weekly gardening group was due to start in September.
Michelle Green, head of the neuro physio team, and Francesca McLuskey, a neuro physio assistant, will be leading the gardening group.
Ms Green said: ‘The area outside the rehabilitation ward and physiotherapy department was previously unloved and it is delightful to see that it now has a purpose.
‘It will provide people with responsibility while they are patients on the rehab ward and could provide some satisfaction and a sense of well-being for those who become involved.’
Patients taking part in the gardening sessions will receive therapeutic tasks, which may include a focus on regaining balance and sensation and developing peer support.
The garden redesign was made possible due to a £2,000 bursary from a local insurance company. In addition, local charity Only Fools and Donkeys funded and designed wheelchair-accessible raised plant beds.
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