Intensive care unit sky garden opens at the Royal Free Hospital

Staff working in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Royal Free Hospital are enjoying a new garden.

Overseeing Hampstead, 'The Cecil Rosen Intensive Care Unit Sky Garden - Healing Heights', will provide staff with a dedicated space to take time out and unwind away from the ICU. The garden is open for to all staff who work within our ICU. This includes administrative colleagues, pharmacists, domestics, porters, doctors, nurses and healthcare support workers. 

Designed by architects William Tozer Associates, and landscaped by Kate Gould Gardens, it has colourful Mediterranean flowers and herbs including rosemary and thyme planted around the garden to create a relaxing environment. 

Mohammad Noor, head of nursing, said: "We are hugely grateful to the Cecil Rosen Foundation, Heathside Charitable Trust and the North West London Jewish Community, for their generosity and for making the creation of this garden possible.

"Working in critical care can often be very busy and demanding. This space offers our staff a peaceful haven that they can enjoy at any time of the day.

"This new space is testament to our exceptional teams, many of whom have been working behind the scenes to make this beautiful new garden a reality."

Rachel Anticoni, director of operations at the Royal Free Hospital, said: "This space will have an incredible impact on the team. The garden will be used as a place to support colleagues, providing a place to decompress and take a breath during a challenging shift. 

Thank you to the donors and the Royal Free Charity for their support. This would not have been possible without the philanthropic community and is a great encapsulation of the change we can make when we work together."

Jon Spiers, chief executive of the Royal Free Charity, said: 

 "We exist to work hand in hand both with donors and the trust to make a transformational difference to our staff and our patients and to help the NHS go further and faster than it can do alone. This garden is a beautiful encapsulation of that and the amazing change that we can bring.

We could not be more grateful to the incredible donors who made it happen, each with their own connection to the work of the Royal Free London. Without their thoughts, vision and support, this project would not have been possible."

The trust is committed to supporting staff health and wellbeing.