Hospital in Bloom

Antenatal Garden opens at Princess Royal Hospital

When others saw rack and ruin, Debra saw potential. Debra Stokeley is the Antenatal Clinic Lead at the hospital. She approached the charity with her proposal to develop an unused terrace into a relaxing garden space with replanted raised beds and seats with a view, and they were happy to help make this vision a reality.

In the busy hustle and bustle of a hospital, a place of calm can be difficult to come by. Fortunately for the Antenatal Clinic at Princess Royal Hospital, this is no longer the case thanks to a beautiful new garden.

The area has been transformed. What was a gloomy, overgrown and neglected corner, is now a bright, calming and peaceful Antenatal Garden. The garden is painted in neutral colours, with butterfly artwork framing the space. Light, airy, with both shady and sunny spots, it provides patients and staff with somewhere to decompress. What’s more, staff have planted a tree in memory of Deena Everest, a much-loved member of the maternity team at Princess Royal Hospital for many years. Debra said:

“Some patients receive bad news and find it difficult to return. Some find it hard being in a waiting room with pregnant people when they’ve recently lost a baby. And others might be waiting a few hours for blood results. Having this calming garden for our department will hopefully make their experiences just that little bit more comfortable.”