A new ecotherapy garden has been created at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline, providing an additional outdoor space designed to support wellbeing, recovery and connection with nature for patients, carers and staff.
The new trauma-informed space has been developed to encourage engagement with the natural environment, with planting and design features intended to support biodiversity while offering a calm, accessible space away from the clinical setting.
The garden is one of the first projects of its kind in Scotland and is designed to help provide support and ongoing rehabilitation for those with chronic pain conditions. NHS Fife has been at the forefront of modernising the care of patients with chronic pain, launching the groundbreaking ‘Pain Talking’ initiative to support more holistic, person-centred approaches and promote non-medicinal strategies for managing long-term pain. The new ecotherapy garden complements this approach by providing a therapeutic outdoor space that supports wellbeing alongside clinical care.
The garden includes outdoor consultation spaces, and planting at all levels to meet patients' mobility and functional needs, including a unique wheelchair-accessible planting bed.
The project forms part of wider work across NHS Fife to enhance greenspaces within hospital grounds and recognise the role nature can play in improving health and wellbeing. The ecotherapy garden has been supported through external funding and delivered with sustainability and long‑term use in mind, with Estates and Facilities teams working closely to integrate the space into the hospital environment.
The new ecotherapy garden has been established in addition to the existing Haven Garden, which continues to offer a peaceful courtyard space at the hospital. The two gardens are intended to serve complementary purposes, giving people a greater choice of outdoor environments depending on their needs.
Rosalyn Standish, Clinical Service Lead for Pain Management, said of the new outdoor space: “For people living with the impact of chronic pain, the environment in which care is delivered can make a real difference. Access to calm, natural outdoor spaces like this garden can reduce stress and help patients feel more at ease as part of their overall care. It also allows us to offer an additional, non-clinical space that can complement pain management and support improved physical and emotional wellbeing.”
Yasmine Morgan, Sustainability Officer at NHS Fife, added: “Access to nature and green space can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing, particularly in healthcare settings. This ecotherapy garden has been designed to create a welcoming outdoor space where people can pause, reflect and reconnect with nature, while also supporting local biodiversity. We’re really pleased to be offering this new garden in addition to the existing outdoor spaces at Queen Margaret Hospital so that patients, staff and visitors have access to a range of areas to choose from based on their individual wants and needs.”
Notes to editors: -
- The project was funded by Scottish Government. The space was designed by Inglis Thorburn and built by Outdoor Living.
- Learn more about the groundbreaking ‘Pain Talking’ initiative at: www.nhsfife.org/pain-talking.
- NHS Fife’s Greenspace Strategy is available to read on our website at: www.nhsfife.org/about-us/sustainability/greenspace
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