• Date awarded: June 2021
  • Awarded value: £24,885
  • Fund: Cameron Hospital General Fund
  • Location: Cameron Hospital

The current entrance to the garden from Letham ward involves a steep incline and a raised metal entrance floor bar that is not easily managed by patients. This new proposed entrance with an automatic door will enable all patients, to go outside easily as and when they wish.

This project will create an accessible entrance into the therapy garden at the Letham Ward, Cameron Hospital, for all patients, but especially those with a hemi paresis (weakness or the inability to move on one side of the body) who use unilateral wheelchairs or mobility aids.

Easier access to the garden will provide a safe accessible area for self-management stroke therapy patients 7 days per week. Chest Heart Stroke Scotland (CHSS) advises stroke rehabilitation includes being able to resume daily activities following adverse lifestyle changes, returning to gardening is a recognised important social and leisure activity discussed within the CHSS advancing education modules.

Stroke is the single most common cause of adult disability (Stroke Association State of the Nation Stroke Statistics 2018). Research shows that abnormal mood impedes rehabilitation.

Patient centred gardening has benefits for a range of clinical conditions including depression stress and anxiety. The incidence of depression within the first year can range from 10% to above 50% (depending on how and when depression is measured) but is estimated to stand at around 33% (Hackett et al 2005). There is increasing evidence that the integration of therapy for patients who have had a stroke can decrease the risk of depression developing post stroke.

The aim is to promote self management within rehabilitation and improve quality of life following a stroke.

This enhancement is not solely for use by stroke patients but is available for all patients on the Cameron site.